Kaduna Airport dormant five years after N2bn upgrade

One year and four months after a bandits’ attack at Kaduna International Airport, domestic flight operations remain suspended at the airport, Daily Trust reports.

This is in spite of the strategic location of the state as the Political Capital of Northern Nigeria with a high concentration of many federal agencies and institutions.

Kaduna Airport is one of the designated international airports in Nigeria with no fewer than six domestic airlines operating into the airport.  

The Federal Government had in 2017 invested over N2bn to upgrade the airport to accommodate the diversion of flights from Abuja following the repair of the runway.

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However, the investment is rotting away as the airport has remained dormant for almost one and half years after the bandits’ attack.

Daily Trust learnt that since the March 27 attack at the airport by bandits, flight operations have been impaired with Azman, the only airline operating to the state, suspending its services.

Two months later, Azman resumed operation with a one-way ticket from Abuja to Kaduna costing over N100,000 due to the insecurity in the state.

But as of the time of filing this report, the airport remains inactive with only chartered aircraft landing and taking off at the airport.

One of the officials at the airport who spoke with Daily Trust on the condition of anonymity yesterday said, “As I am talking to you, only Azman Air operates to Kaduna but since Azman’s domestic operation is presently on hold, there is no domestic flight operation at the airport.”

Before, Arik Air, Air Peace, Med-View, Aero Contractors and Max Air used to fly to the airport.

According to a figure from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Kaduna Airport processes an average of 75,000 passengers annually as of 2019. By implication, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) would be losing N150m annually.

Aviation Security Expert, Ayo Obilana charged the federal and state government to put in place adequate security measures to encourage airlines to fly into the state.