Faulty runway lights have been identified as the reason why some domestic and international flights can not land at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Friday.
The runway blackout forced the flights to be diverted, while some airlines had to delay or cancel their flights.
The Special Assistant to the Minister of Aviation, Mr. Joe Obi, told the News Agency of Nigeria that some of the runway lights were out of order and had to be repaired.
Obi said the defect on the runway lighting system was corrected on Saturday.
Obi, however, said the runway blackout happened due to some routine maintenance work by a construction firm.
He said it was in the course of the maintenance work that some of the runway lights were tampered with.
“For safety reasons, some of the flights were advised to divert to other routes for landing.
“This situation has been corrected and normal operations will begin from Saturday,” he said.
The spokesman of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, Mr. Akin Olukunle, also confirmed the incident.
He told NAN that the blackout made it impossible for some international flights to land in Abuja.
The airport General Manager of FAAN, Mr. Chris Bature, also said although some airlines where able to land, Lufthansa Airline decided to return to Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
“Some of the domestic airlines like IRS, Aero Contractor and Arik Air delayed their flights but a British Airways flight landed at about 5a.m. on Saturday,’’ Bature said.
The Director-General of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Dr. Harold Demuren, who also spoke on the matter, said the situation should be addressed by the National Airspace Management Agency and FAAN
(NAN)
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Shame! What is happening? Unheard of, there should have been options. With the kind of wealth in this sector, there should be emergency lighting available 24hrs. Shame! Brain drain in Naija due to corruption...whats coming to my pocket?
ReplyDeleteIt is unheard of in other countries' capital cities. How could they allow runway lights to deteriorate to a blackout stage before coming to their rescue. Is it not a pity? How can things work when everyone is corrupt? If they tell you how many times they have budgeted money to repair those lights, you will open your mouth agape. Ministers are not doing their work, so the workers too take ease with their work and pocket whatever they can. would u want monkey to work while baboon they chop? it's the problem. From the Head to the Toe of every govt parastatal is Corrupt and non-working. They only seat down in their offices and take salary at the end of the month. It is an infection spreading wide to everyone from the older generation to the new. I wonder if things will work rightly even int he nearest future except by Divine Intervention.
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