Following the relocation of all foreign airlines to the new terminal of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, normalcy has started returning to the new terminal while passenger facilitation has been further enhanced.
Our correspondent who was at the terminal to observe the check-in procedure reports that all the airlines had relocated to the new terminal while passengers were being checked-in seamlessly and conveyed via buses to the apron.
Daily Trust reports that there was rowdiness two days ago when the airlines were asked to relocate after the old terminal was partially gutted by fire on Wednesday.
The relocation was coming earlier than the October 1 which the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, gave for all the airlines to relocate to the new terminal commissioned in March 2022 by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
After FIFA ban, Samson Siasia sets sights on football return
I’ll be on field every day reaching out to poorest Nigerians – Humanitarian minister
Foreign airlines had complained about the apron capacity at the new terminal which they said cannot accommodate wide-bodied aircraft to park.
Following the fire incident recorded during the week, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) immediately relocated all the foreign airlines to the new terminal which was said to have caused a temporary inconvenience to the operators.
Our correspondent learnt that several buses were made available to convey passengers to the aircraft after going through the check-in formalities.
Also, other operators like Air Peace, the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) PLC, supported FAAN with shuttle buses while additional buses were being expected from the headquarters in Abuja.
As of the time of filing this report, our correspondent learnt that several airlines including Virgin Atlantic, Qatar, Air Maroc, Air Peace, AWA, TAG had departed from the terminal.
While eight airlines were initially operating at the terminal prior to the relocation, 13 more airlines had relocated to the terminal making 21 airlines processing from the facility.
Also, there was smooth baggage processing at the baggage area when our correspondent visited with all the carousels working while motorised baggage carts were conveying passengers’ luggage to the aircraft.
Many passengers spoken to by our correspondent only complained about the time spent accessing the terminal from outside the building.
But Daily Trust also observed that the airport was jam-packed with some persons who were however barricaded from accessing the terminal while only confirmed passengers were being allowed amidst tight security.
The terminal manager for the MMIA Terminal Two, Mrs. Ojali Fatusi, was on ground to monitor the activities, saying there has been an improvement since the relocation was carried out.
Speaking with our correspondent, the MMIA Manager and Regional, South-West for FAAN, Mr. Ayodele Sunday, who apologised with the passengers and other stakeholders for the inconvenience said every thing has been done to improve the facilitation.
He said, “We want to use this opportunity to apologise to the traveling public, the airlines and all our stakeholders for the inconveniences they have been passing through all this while. But it is very desirable that we have to move.
“Initially it was planned to be in phases but the incident has forced us to move now even though the passengers are passing through some inconveniences. But then we want to also advise the passengers that it is only the passengers that would be allowed into the terminal building.
“Passengers that are coming with meeters and greeters, 10 people, 20 people, they should please stop all that. Let the passengers be educated, let them come alone to the airport, let them go alone to the terminal building, let them do their facilitation alone at the terminal building so that we can have seamless facilitation.”
He added that FAAN was working in synergy with other agencies at the airport to have a more robust and improved facilitation process at the terminal.
Join Daily Trust WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You.
