By Precious Onwe
Despite federal mitigation measures to preserve Murtala Muhammad International Airport, there are signs that the terminal can no longer function effectively.
The Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria FAAN, Capt Rabiu Yadudu, who described the airport facilities as obsolete, insisted yesterday on the need for a new international airport in the state.
He said all measures put in place at the terminal could no longer work, insisting that the country needed a new terminal in Lagos.
Speaking at the ongoing FAAN’s National Aviation Conference, FNAC2 in Abuja, Yadudu said: “We need to construct a new Lagos international airport terminal. This entire palliative cannot work. All components are obsolete.
“The baggage landing, runway, and central cooling system, among others, are more than 40 years old and should be replaced.
“Nigerians who travel through the airport in Lagos have also lamented the depreciation of facilities at the terminal, which makes travel a horrible experience.
“Owerri is one of our big earners in South East. Abuja is about overtaking Lagos in domestic traffic and that is understandable because Abuja is at the centre and very strategic.”
