Julius Berger Commences Rehabilitation Work on Abuja Airport Runway ...

Kaduna airport witnesses record flights Passengers express mixed feelings over road transportation

Following the closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja by 12 midnight on Wednesday, Julius Berger Nigeria Construction Company, has commenced rehabilitation work on the runway due to last for six weeks.

This is just as business activities picked up fully at the Kaduna Airport with about 16 flights landing and taking off as at 3: 00 p.m. yesterday.

Briefing Journalists during on the closure of the airport, the Minister of State for Aviation, Mr. Hadi Sirika, revealed that the contractor undertaking the runway rehabilitation will be paid in excess of N5 billion.

THISDAY checks at the airfield of the international airport, yesterday, showed that demarcation of the runway has been completed, confirming that the facility has been closed to air traffic.

Speaking, the Airport Terminal Manager, Mrs. Hajara Musa, said the contractor commenced work at 1 a.m, immediately after the shut down yesterday.

While admitting the shortcoming on the arrangement for passenger movement to Kaduna by road, she appealed for understanding on the part of passengers stressing that things will become perfect before weekend.

On the shortcomings, she said: “We are just starting and gradually, there will be improvement. We have made arrangement for the signs that will direct intending passengers on where to get help.

According to her, the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), has made adequate arrangement with more than 10 buses to convey travelers to Kaduna from the airport daily, adding that 5 Chisco buses had already left with some passengers.

Johnson Erijo, an indigene of Delta State, who boarded one of the Chisco buses with registration number SMK 187 XN, from the airport, admitted that he was not charged additional fee for the road transport to Kaduna.

He said: “No fee has been charged except the money I paid for the ticket. The arrangement for now is perfect though I don’t know what it will become of this arrangement later.

Also, corroborating Erijo, Mr. Shittu Akeem, a Lagos bound passenger said: “So far, I have not seen anything bad with this arrangement, no money is being charged for the transport from Abuja to Kaduna.

However, Prof. Dolapo Lufadeju, expressed reservations over the arrangement, adding that subjecting passengers to unnecessary screening in Abuja and Kaduna is uncalled for but added that screening is good for safety of passengers.

“The screening of passengers is also okay by me as that is for our safety. The important thing is that there may be no need to do another screening in Kaduna since all of us have been screened in Abuja.

“I hope the journey from here to Kaduna goes well as I’m told that the buses are equipped with security personnel for safety of passengers.

“The journey looks stressful because this morning I thought of taking taxi cab to Ibadan from Abuja, which takes about 9 hours. Now, I am at the airport at 9 a.m and my flight is 4 pm, so it comes to the same thing.”

The Chairman, Air Traffic Senior Staff Association of Nigeria ( ATSSAN), Abuja Chapter, Mr. Emmanuel Kerri, bemoaned the poor logistics and DTA for the over 84 staff of the union forced to relocate to Kaduna airport to carry out their work.

According to him, quite a large number of operational staff who left for Kaduna are yet to be paid their inconvenience allowance to settle down to work.

He said: “Some of our operational workers left on Saturday while some left on Tuesday and up till this morning they are yet to get alert. Their accommodation has not being sorted out. Government should put machinery in place to make their stay comfortable.”

Kerri, said 88 Aviation security and Fire Departments are in Kaduna, stressing that they have been calling the union leader to lodge complaints on the deplorable condition of living in Kaduna, because of temporary relocation.

“Some of them collected money from Cooperative to transport themselves to Kaduna and drop some money for their families which is a loan. The government should settle them so that they can concentrate on their jobs,” Kerri said.

Meanwhile, the Kaduna Airport Manager, Mrs. Amina Ozi Salami, told THISDAY in a telephone interview that although she was not in a position to say how many flights landed and took of from the airport, flight activities were unprecedented.

“I am at a meeting right now. I am not in charge of operations, so I am not in a position to provide the information you want. But there was unprecedented flights that landed and took off today. I will text you the phone number of the officer in charge of operations to give you all the details,” she said on telephone.

She however did not send the phone number of the officer concerned, neither did she respond to a text sent to her as reminder.

But a source at the airport disclosed that, as at 4:00pm, 16 domestic flights landed and took off from the airport.

The source who pleaded anonymity said further that more flights were being expected in the evening.

“Everything is going on smoothly now. The initial hitches that were experienced on Wednesday when we started have been corrected.

“More personnel have been deployed from Abuja and Lagos to Kaduna and I tell you that in the next few days everything will be perfect at the airport,” he said.