• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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BusinessDay

Airlines, passengers hurting over Lagos airport’s non-functional runway lights

Panic at Lagos airport over electrical short circuit incident

Nigeria’s travel sector is currently hurting as travellers and airlines operating into Lagos airport are bearing the brunt of poor infrastructure at the airport.

In the past few days, airlines have had to divert their Lagos-bound flights to Abuja because the centre line lights on 18R, the runway at the international wing, have been unserviceable.

BusinessDay’s checks show that before now, the runway lights at 18L, the local wing, were also unserviceable, making it impossible for local airlines to land at the domestic airport at night. This situation forced local airlines to land at the international wing at night, then taxi to local airport.

With 18R and 18L (domestic and international) runway lights at Lagos airport now non-functional, it means no airline can land or take off at night at both runways.

Lagos airport currently processes over 65 percent passenger traffic in Nigeria and travellers bound for Lagos have had to land at Abuja airport because the runway lights at Lagos airport are bad.

Experts say if the lights are not fixed in good time, Abuja airport may soon become congested and airlines may be forced to land at Accra and other neighbouring countries.

Olumide Ohunayo, an aviation analyst, told BusinessDay that Nigeria has had the issue of non-functional runway lights for over 10 years. He said this should be a priority to government but, surprisingly, the government hasn’t done anything about it.

Read Also: BA diverts flight to Abuja as Lagos runway lights collapse

Ohunayo said that functional runway lights will improve operational services at Lagos airport, increase flight into the airport and reduce cost of operations for domestic airlines who have to taxi all the way to local airport at night.

He said government needs to expedite action on providing runway lights not just for Lagos but for all the major airports in the country.

“As more airlines come on, they need more frequencies and schedules and to operate the schedules, they have to operate beyond the 6pm time. It is only when airlines have frequencies and schedules that they would be able to meet up with their leased aircraft payments,” Ohunayo said.

“If these frequencies are there, the fares will drop and once fares drop, you have more passengers flying. It’s a win-win for everyone. And once more passengers fly, all the regular agencies would have their revenues increased. Fixing the runway lights at the airport is not a luxury but a component for improving and increasing revenue generation for all parties. It will also improve efficiency and safety,” he said.

British Airways on Saturday morning sent a message to its passengers stating clearly that its Friday flight from London to Lagos had to divert to Abuja airport due to local infrastructure issues in Lagos.

“BA075 Lagos – We’re very sorry your flight to Lagos had to divert to Abuja due to local infrastructure issues in Lagos. Your new estimated departure time is on 19th June at 12:00 local time, arriving into Lagos at around 13:30 local time,” the message said.

“Transport from the hotel will depart for the airport at 08:00 local time. Please continue to check ba.com/flight status,” it said.

One of the passengers on the BA flight told BusinessDay that his plans for the day had been cancelled as a result of the development. The passenger said it was sad to know that the airport at Nigeria’s mega city did not have functional runway lights.

The passenger, who craved anonymity, said that this was not the first time a similar situation was occurring despite airport charges passengers pay on each ticket.

“I hear the pilot contemplated landing in Accra. I have never heard of flights to Accra being diverted to Lagos. It is always the other way round. When it is not runway light, it is shortage of aviation fuel or one other failing. We must expose the rot at the Lagos airport. Passengers pay one of the highest airport taxes in the world and get nonsense for it,” a father to one of the affected passengers lamented to BusinessDay.

BusinessDay’s checks show that the Murtala Muhammed International Airport records about 1,540 aircraft movement monthly (arrivals and departures). This implies that the airport records about 51 aircraft movements daily. Therefore, the Lagos airport receives at least 25 arriving aircraft daily from various parts of the world and 25 aircraft departing the city to various parts of the world daily.

An international aircraft airlifts an average of 250 passengers on a flight. This implies that each day a flight is diverted instead of landing at the Lagos airport, about 6,250 arriving passengers would be affected, while operators would have to pay extra for aviation fuel, accommodation logistics and landing and parking charges at an alternate airport.

Tolu Odutola, a pilot and aviation expert, told BusinessDay that for now, passengers that cannot land at the airport would be catered for by the airline, as it is still the responsibility of the carrier until disembarkment while the ones that couldn’t take off are FAAN’s responsibility.

Odutola said the situation doesn’t in any way show that Nigeria is prepared to be West Africa’s aviation hub, adding that to become a hub, the workers in the industry need to be equipped with the right tools to excel.

“We cannot pay little or no attention to infrastructure and expect miracles to happen,” he stated.

Seyi Adewale, chief executive officer, Mainstream Cargo Limited, told BusinessDay that the incident is very embarrassing for the nation and particularly to the airport authorities.

“In my opinion, this ought to be thoroughly investigated up to escalating it as an ‘economic and political sabotage’. Anyone found culpable should be treated with the stiff penalties,” Adewale said.

The immediate impact of infrastructure decay include significant increase in risks associated with Nigeria’s aviation sector with negative consequences for airlines and their ‘consumers’.

“If the government is serious about developing the sector, the airports need be privatized or concessioned immediately. The usual limitations or setbacks to this from the aviation unions should be tackled immediately. The Unions must recognize that they need to jettison their ‘archaic labour theories or tendencies’. The world is moving at a great speed and we must not be left behind,” he said.