Akure Airport shuts down operation over unsafe runway

Flights have been prevented from flying and landing in Akure Airport, the Ondo State capital over sudden appearance of craters on the runway at the Airport.

Investigation by BusinessDay revealed that craters were dug by suspected miscreants on the runway which had forced the Airport authority to close the runway, preventing flights from taking off or landing in the Airport.

When BusinessDay Correspondent visited the Airport with few journalists, Joke Olatunji, the Airport Manager, said she was not authorised to speak to newsmen.

Olatunji neither denied nor confirmed the development, but investigation revealed that the Airport was shut down for operations as a result of the deep holes dug on the runway.

It was further revealed that the Airport Authority discovered the craters overnight and subsequently closed the runway.

There were no operational activities in the Airport, though it could not be ascertained whether the closure of the runway as caused by the craters was as a result of ongoing protests and destruction of public and private facilities across the country or not.

However, Spokesperson of Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Henrietta Yakubu, said there were craters discovered on the runway within the Airport but that didn’t account for the quick shutdown of runaway for flights.

Yakubu confirmed that there were cracks discovered on the runway during the routine checks on Monday morning and that had not affected flight operations in the Airport, saying that repair works had commenced on the cracked portions on the Airport.