New Lagos Airport Terminal To Raise Passenger Capacity To 30m

The new terminal building at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, which will be completed this year is expected to boost the airport’s passenger capacity by another 15 million in addition to existing capacity of 15 million passengers, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has said.
Spokesman of the airport authority, Mr Yakubu Dati told journalists in Lagos yesterday that FAAN was currently gearing up towards handling the expected 30 millions passengers traffic at the completion of work at the international airport terminal building.
FAAN faces the new challenge as it awaits the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) safety audit in March this year. But the agency said there was no room for disappointments.
Speaking on the activities of the agency on traffic management before and after the yuletide period, Dati said except the Turkish airline’s passengers breach that happened on Christmas day, the yuletide season saw a hitch-free and seamless passengers facilitation.
Dati, who is the general manager, Corporate Affairs, said FAAN was alive to its responsibilities in ensuring that its security operatives and other security agencies deployed detective machines such as screening machine, CCTV, full body scanners and personal intelligence to ensure easy facilitation of passengers.
He said, “Let me also emphasise that a safe and secured airport will be in place and will be witnessed this year when the new terminals under construction will be completed and passengers will have that experience they always enjoy outside the shores.
“With the completion of the new terminal in Lagos, the terminal will be able to process additional 15 million passengers which means we will able to service about 30 million passengers. All these are things put together to raise aviation to a new level this year.”
The FAAN spokesman also disclosed that security has been repositioned across the airports with a view to meeting the challenges ahead, adding that FAAN was looking forward to partnering with investors as a result of dwindling resources in line with the minister’s statement.
He appealed to concessionaires, especially airlines to pay their debts to agencies in order to enable them to continue rendering services to them.
On the preparation for the forthcoming International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) audit in March, Dati said a mock exercise towards the audit was conducted by the Airport Council International (ACI) team during their visit on their invitation by the managing director of FAAN.
According to him, ACI team during the visit to facilities at the airport, some open areas identified will be closed before the audit date adding that the country will scale through and was doing everything possible to ensure that the country will not disappoint Dr Bernard Aliu as a Nigeria and as the ICAO president.
On the certification of airports in the country, Dati said a team was working round the clock with other agencies to ensure that all gaps were closed.
While advising airport users especially passengers not leave any luggage behind as any unattended luggage will be destroyed, Dati warned further that passenger to adhere strictly to airport rules and regulations and not to carry any luggage not belonging to them.
He commended the minister’s for their visits to the airports to acquaint themselves with facilities on ground with a view to addressing lapses.

culled from leadership