Kaduna Airport ready for Abuja’s closure – FAAN

The Kaduna International Airport is ready for expected traffic surge ahead of the closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) in about three weeks’ time.

The Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) which gave the assurance yesterday, said the Kaduna airport runway was in perfect condition while the capacity of the airport had been enhanced to accommodate any type of aircraft.

The FAAN Manager at the airport, Hajiya Amina OziSalami, gave the indications during a site inspection of the airport, assuring that the lighting of the runway would be completed during the week, and that adequate manpower would be deployed to meet the operational needs during the six-week period.

Amina Ozi -Salami said the fire and safety equipment as well as the navigational equipment of the airport were being upgraded in line with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standard.

She added, “We are going to also boost the manpower by deploying staff from Abuja to Kaduna and we are bringing in 40 fire and safety staff and 57 security staff. The management has been making effort to stop villagers around the airport from trespassing and the state government has started working on the vandalised portion of the perimeter fencing. With the synergy among the security agencies, the issue of security has been taken care of.”

The project engineer, Mr. Kazeem Keji, said the project was 92 per cent completed and would be ready by February ending. “We are not looking at the March 8 date, our deadline for completion is February ending and we are going to finish it. We have done the major part of the project, it is only the fittings that we are expecting to be delivered after which the ceiling will be fixed,” he said.