FG to expand landing facilities at airport

Bola Badmus, Abuja - 07.01.2008

Minister of State for Air Transport, Mr. Felix Hyat, said the challenge before the Federal Government now is how to expand the space available for landing and parking at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, as airlines operating in the country are being encouraged to bring in new aircraft into their fleet.

The minister, who expressed shock at the level of decay of facilities and general untidiness of the buildings and the environment, said this during the facility tour of the airport at the weekend as part of the efforts to improve aviation services in 2008 which President Umaru Yar’Adua has described as year of expectations.

“We are going to face serious challenges in the future with the airlines bringing in new aircraft and they cannot park them in the air, they have to park them somewhere at the airport.

“We have encouraged them to bring in new aircraft, then we have to be saddled with the responsibility of making provision for them to park. We are looking at this critically to see what we can do,” the minister said.

According to the minister, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had been directed to look into the matter and is already working on how to increase the space available for landing and parking at the airport.

Hyat admitted that the government was already aware that the development of airlines in the country was far ahead of the development of airport facilities, pointing out that this was the danger that the government of Alhaji Yar”Adua was prepared to address.