Festus Keyamo, the minister of aviation and aerospace development, has put the contentious Nigeria Air Project and the airport concessions that Muhammadu Buhari, the recently-past president, had started on hold.
Platinum Times cites the controversy surrounding the Nigeria Air project and the concessions of the airports in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, and Port Harcourt.
On his first visit to Lagos and on a tour of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Keyamo suspended all plans and preparations for the envisioned national airline, Nigeria Air.
Keyamo stated that the new Lagos terminal had not been utilized as much as it could have since it could not accommodate wide-bodied planes. He said that the airlines would continue to use the terminal while the government purchased large buses to transport passengers.
The old international terminal at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos would be closed by October 1, 2023, he added, and all private hangars, including Dominion Hangar and EAN Hangar, would be relocated to make room for the new terminal’s expansion.
“The major complaints have been with the old terminal. That place is an eyesore for Nigerians coming in. The lifts are not working. The passage is unwelcoming, and there is no air conditioner. We have the new terminal, but it cannot be used. It was designed without provision for big planes,” Keyamo stated.