After close to sixteen (16) years of Murtala Muhammed Airport operating as a sunset airport, the entire Nigerian aviation sector breathed a sigh of relief when normalcy returned on Friday November 11, 2022, as the newly installed Airfield Lighting (AFL) on 2nd runway 18L/36R made it possible for Air Peace’ flight P4-7420 (Registration Number 5N – BUJ) to take off from the runway en route Kano at about 06:18 hrs.
At a recently held Appreciation Ceremony organized by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) graced by the Honourable Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika along side other aviation big wigs, Sirika accentuated the importance of AFL, even as he evaluated his time in office and glossed over other projects he has delivered during his tenure:
“When I came in as minister, 2015 to 2019, I embarked on 154 projects of which at least 40% was initiated by someone else. Out of these, I delivered 137, equating to a delivery rate of 87%. This is on record. When we came into office, some of the projects were only 10% completed. I wanted to abandon those projects and hand them over to the private sector, but President Buhari wanted them finished and so we delivered them 100%”, he said.
The Managing Director (MD), FAAN, Capt. Rabiu Yadudu, who was equally present concurred with the Minister, and expressed gratitude to stakeholders of the Nigerian aviation sector for their collaboration, responsiveness and perseverance throughout the period of the rehabilitation of the aforementioned runway – a synergism which according to the MD, partly ensured the timely completion of the project:
“I just want to say thank you very much. We have done and are doing a lot. We shall continue to do more towards providing and assuring much more compliance to industry best standards and practices. We wish to thank critical stakeholders, airline operators, handlers and the entire aviation family for their perseverance and commitment to seeing the project to its conclusion. We shall continue to deliver, for the good of our country”, he said.
Prior to its revitalization, the poor state of the runway in question had made it difficult for its usage with reference to landing and take-off after sunset – a situation which forced indigenous airlines to land at the international wing before taxiing to the domestic area.
The resumption of full-time operations on runway 18L/36R is a welcome state of affairs which experts opine will pump the breaks on the immense economic strain placed on the nation’s aviation ecosystem in the last decade.
