Hope beams on Nigerian airports as five terminals near completion

Hope is beaming again in the aviation sector as the federal government is showing its relentless drive in making sure it fulfils its promise of completing some the terminals at the five international airports by the end of this year.
The terminals are those in Lagos, Kano, Abuja, Enugu and Port Harcourt airports.
According to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, (FAAN), the four new terminals will double passenger traffic emanating from them.
Yakubu Dati, General Manager, Public Communications, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria told BusinessDay that some of new terminals should be delivered at the end of this year according to the working schedule of the company building the terminal.
“We are happy with the progress so far. Apart from the fact that they are going to provide new international terminals with modern facilities, this will enable facilitation, safety and security and provide employment,” Dati said.
BusinessDay checks show that on the average, each of the sites is providing unskilled to skilled labourers, some of which include carpenters, electricians, architects and consultants, amongst others.

According to Dati, “We are looking at 15million passengers per annum and by the time they are completed; we will be have capacity to accommodate at least 24million passengers for the four airports.

For the Lagos terminal, Dati said passengers will use the new terminals while most of the offices will be left at the old terminal so as to enhance facilitation of passengers.
BusinessDay’s checks show that from the projections of FAAN, passenger traffic for Abuja and Lagos, would increase to 60million annually and Port Harcourt and Kano will also double to six million annually.
About three years ago, government got about $500 million from the Chinese bank for the construction of four new terminals to ease congestion at the current ones.
There are about 21 international airlines and eight scheduled domestic airlines operating in the country.
Nigeria’s passenger traffic for inbound and outbound destinations soared to 21 million in 2014, surpassing the record of 2013, by over 20 per cent.
The growth has been attributed to flourishing economic activities, the rebasing of the nation’s economy, during that period, which made Nigeria the choice of the country as investment destination.
Industry analyst, Francis Ayigbe, tied the increase to consistent restoration of passenger confidence in domestic travel, especially with the absence of air crashes.
According to Ayigbe, the upgrade of airport facilities also boosted confidence of air travelers.
About 15 million people travelled on domestic destinations at the Lagos and Abuja airports each, while eight million travelled on international destinations in 2015.
Kano and Port Harcourt airports had about three million passengers for the year 2015.
BusinessDay checks show that the eight domestic airports with scheduled flight in Nigeria has 71 fleets, while international airlines operating in the country and about 21 international airlines with over 100 fleets.
Experts say with the new terminals, there will be an increase in the number of airlines since there will be more space to accommodate various aircrafts.
“The new terminals will help with passenger facilitation, improve travel experience and enhance the road map for developing the Lagos airports as a hub,” Tayo Ojuri, CEO of Aglo Limited, an aviation support service company, told BusinessDay.

Ojuri said it will help in the development of non-aeronautical avenues and ambiance, “the ambiance of an airport help in attracting passengers and that improves the revenues. It will also give enough space for aircraft parking and operations,” he added.

SleepingInAirports.net a travel website noted that areas of concentration for airports around the world should be front-line areas for departures, arrival and transfer, including airport facilities, customer service, security, immigration, shop outlets and food and beverages facilities
Nogie Meggison, President, Airline Operators of Nigeria said that the Federal Airports Authority, (FAAN) still needs to provide adequate navigational equipment required for night landing and landing in bad weather conditions is hurting the airlines’ expansion drive in the country.

The instruments include landing systems, night lighting aids, runway lighting and other radio signals to aid 24 hours aviation at all Nigerian airports.

“When you build a terminal, you build it for the airlines and the customers not for the government. The whole essence is to provide a service and a service is supposed to be a business service so that it can be mutually benefitting and friendly to customers,” Meggison said.
“Murtala Muhammed Airport that was built in 1976 has 12 packing fingers and if in thirty years later, we are having 20percent of that finger, then it means we do not have a parking space at the new Lagos terminal,” he added.
However, Yakubu Dati said the terminals have enough space to accommodate as much aircrafts as possible, stating that people may not see the capacity of the terminals now, until it is completed.
Experts have raised questions as to whether the new terminals have underground fueling system, transit lounges within working distance, distance of the airlines from the finger and the packing space for aircrafts, amongst others.
In response to this, Dati said, “There is no way a terminal will be built without considering safety, adequate fingers for parking aircrafts and transit lounges. These issues are key to us and they are all embedded in the new terminal.”
Christophe Penninck, Chief Executive Officer of Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL) said that beyond building an airport terminal, the airports should have modern smart light and building management system to prevent accidents.
Penninck said security checks should be done through CCTV, Baggage Reconciliation System, (BRS), Dual Vision system, X-ray machines, passenger tracking and manifest printer, adding that in the area of facilitation, there should be self-check-in, Common User Passenger Processing system (CUPPS), automation of various areas (car park) and mobile apps amongst others.

IFEOMA OKEKE