The Ministry of Aviation on Wednesday attributed the low passenger traffic being recorded at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano to security challenges in the area. It added that there is no deliberate plan to make the airport dormant.
Yakubu Dati, coordinating communications manager for aviation agencies, said airlines that had already been designated to the airport will feel safe to operate there when the security challenge is jointly addressed by both state and federal governments.
“There is no sabotage by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Ministry of Aviation to make the terminal and perhaps the airport dormant. Kano has been and will continue to be one of the major airports in Nigeria and it is because of the importance attached to the airport that FAAN embarked on rebuilding the domestic terminal which was commissioned in early 2011.
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“In addition to that, the minister has designated the airport perishable cargo airport and embarked on building a perishable cargo terminal as well as another international terminal at the airport. Work on the projects would soon be started as contracts for them have been awarded.
“The under-utilisation of the airport could be explained by the security situation in Kano and we believe that if the state government is working effectively with the Federal Government which has made efforts to eliminate insurgents in the North, air travellers will start coming to Kano and airlines which had already been designated will feel safe to operate from the airport”, he said.
Dati explained further that in terms of facilities, the Kano airport is ahead of others like Port Harcourt airport terminal and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, adding, “The problem of Kano airport is the issue of security in Kano, it is when this is done that the airport would begin to witness increased passenger movements that will boost the utilisation of the airport.”
“The Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos provides over 80 percent of FAAN’s revenue, yet the Kano domestic and international airport terminals were completed before that of Lagos. In fact, work is still going on at the international terminal of the Lagos airport and it is hoped it will be commissioned later this year”.
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