Travel News

by  Chinedu Eze

The federal government may shut down Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu for the rehabilitation of the runway, to make it safe for air travellers.

The airport which is the only facility that services international flight operations in the South-east may be shut down the third time, if government finally decided that the comprehensive work needed to put the runway in the best shape is to be done.

Runway is a safety critical infrastructure, which must be in good condition for aircraft to operate but experts versed in runway engineering say that there could be other ways of reconstructing it without wholly closing the airport.

The airport serves many people who live in Anambra, Benue, Ebonyi, Enugu and Abia states. So, the closure will have major negative impact in the movement of the people, especially now travelling long distance by road is being discouraged due to insecurity.

“They are going to close the runway again. I can confirm that to you. What is worrying about it is that the governor of the state has shown a lot of commitment to that airport and closing it will constrict the state’s economic activities. That means that Nigerians will suffer again like the many times it was closed in the past for the same purpose.

“The runway breaking down now means that the quality of work done in the past is questionable; yet, so much money was voted for its rehabilitation. It doesn’t mean that they cannot use night time alone to repair it or close it on weekends; after all, runway at Gatwick Airport, London was rehabilitated recently but it was done in the night and it served flights during the day. But closing the airport is about our type of administrative system,” an insider who was head of aviation agency and witnessed the rehabilitation of the runway in 2019, said informed sources.

In 2020 when the airport was reopened after the work on the runway, the former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, assured that that remedial work would be carried out from time to time on the runway, so that the airport would not be closed again over the same issue.

“FAAN management has been given the mandate to ensure that periodic maintenance is carried out diligently so that we will not have to go through a painful experience of closure again. May I ask the government and people in this region to increase their commitment by using this airport to the fullest of its capacity? This airport will be placed in concession to ensure value for money,” the then Minister had said.

Sirika disclosed at the reopening of the airport that he approved N10 billion as special funding for the rehabilitation of the airport, and that former President Mohammadu Buhari showed how dedicated he was towards the infrastructural development of the South-east.

Like what is happening now, there was a lot of contemplation before the airport was finally closed in 2019 for the rehabilitation because of the critical role the airport plays in the South-east.

A major operator to the airport, Air Peace, supported the closure of the airport then because of the bad runway and expressed hope that after comprehensive rehabilitation, the runway would be in excellent shape for safe and smooth flight operation.

The Chairman and CEO of Air Peace, Dr. Allen Onyema, explained then that the closure was necessary to ensure safety of flight operations to the route.

“The management and staff of Air Peace wish to commend the federal government for the decision to close the Akanu Ibiam Enugu International Airport in order to allow proper repair and maintenance of the airports runway which has given us serious safety concerns.

“For the avoidance of doubt, Air Peace is fully and totally in support of this decision. Though the decision will affect the traveling public and, of course, the airline, we place the safety of the flying public, our crew and equipment above any commercial benefits,” Onyema said.

He urged the government to go all out to put everything in place, within the period of the closure that would make the airport rank among the best international airports in the country.

“We plead with the federal government to make the airport a 24 hours flight operations airport by improving the night landing infrastructure,” Onyema had further urged.

But just four years down the line, government is thinking of closing the airport again. It was then reconstructed by PW Nigeria Limited, a company, which has reputable experience in airport runway construction.

A FAAN official told THISDAY that the problem with the Enugu airport runway had been the issue of soil, adding that after it has been rehabilitated, continuous landing of aircraft weakens it and over time it needs to be rehabilitated again.

“The soil where the runway is built is soft; so, the impact of aircraft landing softens it and it gives way over time. But if they want to build everlasting infrastructure, they should do heavy concrete groundwork and then use asphalt on top, the way they did that of Abuja airport. That will prevent the current intermittent effort of rehabilitating after every few years, which disrupts flight operations. If you close the airport now, it will affect the economic activities of so many people,” he said.

However, the public affairs of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) told THISDAY thatt the plan to close the airport has not been communicated officially.

But the spokesperson of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, Mrs. Josephine Ajara, told THISDAY that remedial work has been on-going on the runway and that there would be no announcement for the airport closure for a more comprehensive rehabilitation.

It is the opinion of many that the airport should not be closed again; rather, a different system should be adopted to rehabilitate the runway while it still provides service, as other countries do.

P.W. Nigeria Ltd. has now over 45 years of experience working in Nigeria, and throughout the West Africa region. P.W. Nigeria Ltd. has an extensive modern fleet of construction equipment and a team of highly trained and professional staff. It is highly committed to the continued development of Nigeria.