In a bid to achieve the creation of a state-of-the-art terminal at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMIA) in Lagos, some privately-owned hangars will have to be demolished.
The expansion of the apron of the new terminal at the MMIA will affect the facilities of Evergreen Apple Nigeria and Dominion Hangar.
Dominion Hangar belongs to Bishop David Oyedepo.
Making the revelation over the weekend in Lagos, the minister of aviation, Hadi Sirika, said that the demolition of the two privately owned facilities will create space for the expansion of the apron of the new terminal.
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Limited aircraft maneuvering space has been the bane of the state-of-the-art terminal which was unveiled last year. It was said that the small apron cannot accommodate wide-body aircraft like Boeing B777 and others.
The minister at the unveiling of new firefighting vehicles stressed that the new terminal expansion was necessary to ensure the facility would be fully utilised.
According to him, moving passengers to the old terminal after checking them in at the new facility was cumbersome and time-consuming.
“We are not operating Lagos airport at full capacity.
“We have some obstructions that will be removed within the next one or two weeks to expand the apron so that Lagos will have full use of 100% of the new terminal,” he said.
On the hangers that would be demolished, he said: “We are going to demolish Dominion Hangar and Evergreen Apple Nigeria hangar to make way for the new apron and that would be in a few weeks,” he said.
On the acquisition of new fire tenders, Sirika said the absence of fire cover at any period airport or inadequate fire cover was enough to either shut down or downgrade the facility.
Efficient Take-off And Landing Of Flights
He recalled that the Sosoliso crash, which took place at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa on December 10, 2005, and killed 108 out of 110 on board, was tragically devastating because the fire could have been put off if there had been adequate fire-fighting vehicles.
He remembered the Loyola Jesuit students who died in the crash and said lack of fire cover guaranteed the death of the children who even survived the crash because they were later roasted alive by the fire.
The Federal Government acquired 10 Volkan Lion 6×6 fire fighting vehicles, which were delivered to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) Aeronautical Rescue and Fire Fighting Services (ARFFS) worth over 12 billion Naira.
According to the Minister, the importance of safety equipment could not be emphasised enough because they were key to the safety, security, and efficient take-off and landing of flights.
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“To non-aviators and onlookers, you see fire-fighting equipment, but the importance and relevance are not brought into focus, especially for people watching from afar whose only concern is to board aircraft and use air-conditioned terminals.
“Well for us, that is important too, but most important is to keep you safe.
“Do you all remember our children who left Abuja for Port Harcourt in the Sosoliso crash?
We couldn’t save those children because even though the plane landed, and crashed; they were still alive but the airport did not have adequate fire cover to protect those ones and parents were seeing their children burn alive; children they sent to school.
” That is so sad. For 15 years, no fire tender has been supplied to us, we just cannibalise two or three to make one.”
