•NANTA, others insist on second runway project
Hues and cries by airline operators notwithstanding, experts have
thrown their weight behind the Federal Government’s decision to
completely close the runway of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport,
Abuja, during the six-week repair exercise.
SOurce:-guardian.n
The experts reckon that complete closure is though unusual in modern
airports around the world, but for the peculiarity of the Abuja airport,
the measure is imperative to avoid another air disaster.
Given the security issues in the North, concern has been on the
safety of air travellers if Abuja flights are diverted to Kaduna, one of
the troubled states in the region, despite assurance from government.
In effect, they appealed to all parties concerned – operators,
passengers, and the general public, to bear with the government, to
ensure that the country is not embarrassed during the repairs.
In a related development, travel agencies in the country have called
on the Federal Government to commence work on the second runway at the
Abuja airport. President of the National Association of Nigeria Travel
Agencies (NANTA), Bernard Bankole, said the second runway was over due
for an airport that services the seat of government, amidst rapid
population growth in Abuja.
The 4000metres long runway has been in bad shape in the last couple
of months and was in December 2016 penciled for repair at the cost of
N1billion. While the repair work would last for at least six weeks, air
traffic will be diverted to Kaduna airport, from where buses will take
passengers back to Abuja in a two-hour road journey.
Doyen of the aviation sector in Nigeria, Capt. Dele Ore, recently
told reporters that he aligned with the government on plans for the
runway repairs, and shocked by the position of the airline operators.
Recall that the Airlines Operators of Nigeria (AON), the umbrella
body of domestic airlines in the country, last week faulted the closure
plan, calling for partial use of the runway since repair work will not
affect the entire runway.
Ore, with about five decades of experience in the industry, said the
argument was “unprofessional and shocking.”He said: “I was shocked to
hear AON said they would manage the runway. They will land on one side
while work is going on on the other side. Are we so uninformed? The
whole world will laugh at such a thing.”
He recalled an accident in November 2003, when a cargo airplane,
Hydro Cargo, crash landed in Lagos. Though the airport has two runways,
one was being resurfaced but the workers, it was alleged, left some
equipment on the runway. The air traffic controllers, unaware of the
situation cleared the Hydro Cargo plane to land on the resurfaced runway
at night, causing a crash and huge embarrassment to the country.
According to the Ore, “That same mistake would be made with partial
closure of the Abuja runway. Besides the technicality of take-off that
require a full runway length, there is one side of Abuja, such that on
takeoff, it is towards the hills. For such, you need the full runway to
avert an accident. And I believe the AON got it wrong. It was so
unprofessional,” he said.
The retired captain, who founded the Aviation Round Table (ART), the
think-tank group of the industry, recalled that for 15 years, the group
canvassed for the construction of a second runway at Abuja airport, “but
no one listened”.
When the Senate did in 2008 and proposal requested, “some interested
parties” demanded for “over-bloated and embarrassing sum” of N64billion,
which ensured that the proposal was thrown away. “The question was that
are you going to pave the runway with gold? Because the amount of money
requested was enough to built two new airports with terminals and two
parallel runways in a virgin land. So, we didn’t take advantage of that.
“ART kept warning and it is on record, the president of our country
could be coming from abroad and someone could have crashed on the
runway, the president will not be able to land. It has now dawned on us
that the runway needs repair, nearly 15 years behind schedule. It means
we have been endangering the lives of people for so long. That is why
I’m in support of the government that said ‘let’s close this place
down’.”
NANTA president, Bankole, observed that issues of infrastructure at
the airports have constantly embarrassed successive administrations in
the country, adding that the onus is one the current government to take
full responsibility for happenings around the airports.
While he aligns with the closure of the runway for repair, Bankole said it was high time the government reconsiders the construction of an alternative runway for the Abuja airport.
He said: “We are requesting that the government embark on the
implementation of the second runway. So that in another 10 or 15 years,
we will not be talking about a runway that is not good and causing the
nation an embarrassment.”
Bankole added that with the paucity of fund amidst recession facing
the economy, the government should consider the option of Public Private
Partnership (PPP) or special loan to get the second runway done in good
time. “That will ease the pressure of this kind of situation in the
future. The government of today have shown that they are proactive. Let
us see same in ensuring that the construction of the second runway kicks
off,” he said.
