The Nnamdi
Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) Abuja
is to come alive tomorrow as airlines, ground handling, catering and
other aviation industry allied logistic firms
have announced the mobilisation of personnel and equipment for the
resumption of commercial activities.
Daily Sun
learnt that local and foreign airlines had commenced the sales of air tickets
to passengers about two weeks ago ahead of the airport resumption on April 19.
An industry official on Sunday confirmed to Daily Sun that airlines and ground
handling companies like Nahco and Sahcol had begun the relocation of staff and
equipment from the Kaduna Airport, which had served as the alternate to the
NAIA for the past six weeks.
As reported by sunnewsonline, This comes
even as some local airlines have announced flight resumption on Wednesday.
“Air Peace is
pleased to announce resumption of all our flights into and out of the Nnamdi
Azikiwe International Airport with effect from Wednesday, April 19,” said the
airline’s spokesman, Mr. Chris Iwarah.
“As Nnamdi
Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, reopens on Wednesday to air traffic,
Medview Airline is resuming with six daily flights to the nation’s capital,”
the airline’s Chief Operating Officer/Accountable Manager (COO/AM), Mr. Lookman
Animashaun, said.
“Besides the
six daily flights, the flights to Yola, Kano, and Maiduguri will now be routed
through Abuja, which has been the practice,” it added.
A top official
of South African Airways, one of the foreign airlines that ply the Abuja route
but refused to fly into the Kaduna airport, told Daily Sun that the airline
would only announce its resumption of flights into Abuja Airport after the
Easter holiday.
Meanwhile, the
Aviation Round Table (ART) has lauded the Federal Government for the timely
completion of the rehabilitation of the Abuja airport runway.
“We in ART
salute the Minister of Aviation and his agencies for living true to its promise
to deliver Abuja run way on schedule as we count down to 19 April,” said the
ART President, Mr. Gabriel Olowo.
“It is our
prayer that such purposeful actions is sustained in the sector as we demand
that Aviation delivers one per cent of Nigeria GDP by 2020 as against the
present meagre 0.4 per cent,” he added.
Recall that
the Federal government had shut down the airport for six weeks _March 8 – April
19, 2017) to allow the rehabilitation of the runway which had been posing a
threat to safe landing and take-off of aircraft for almost a year.
0 Comments