All is Set, Says Govt as Abuja Airport Closes at Midnight Tuesday

Air travellers to Abuja en route from Kaduna have nothing to fear about their safety, the federal government said on Monday, explaining that adequate security arrangements had been made to ensure seamless transit arrangements from the ancient northern city to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Air traffic to Abuja are to be diverted to the Kaduna Airport from Wednesday, following the closure of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at midnight Tuesday for six weeks to pave the way for the rehabilitation of its runway.
Air passengers, especially foreigners, citing the restive nature of Kaduna and its environs, had expressed concern about their safety moments after government issued the closure notice last year.

At the conference with the IG were the Minister of Transport, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi; Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika; Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; and Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola.But the federal government at a joint press conference Monday held by the Inspector-General of Police (IG), Mr. Ibrahim Idris, and four ministers, gave firm assurances to the public that the security arrangements it had put together was sufficient to secure all routes leading to Abuja from Kaduna.

The IG unfolded the comprehensive security plan, which included air and ground surveillance by the police as well as military air cover to be provided by the Nigerian Air Force.
He said the police air wing would also provide helicopter surveillance that would cover the Kaduna Airport and the Kaduna-Abuja Road.

The IG, who said he just conducted an assessment tour of the roads leading to the airport, plus the train station at Idu in Abuja, assured local and international travellers of their safety, saying that all the various special units of the Nigeria Police, including the Police Mobile Force had been mobilised to make the exercise successful.
In addition, Idris said that sniffer dogs would also be part of the security architecture, which would see armed police escorts accompanying travellers from Kaduna to Abuja.

He added that security check points would be set up at every 5 kilometre of the road while policemen would be stationed on every 2.5 kilometre stretch of the road where travellers will also be screened.

Idris said the police force has enough capacity and capability to carry out efficient surveillance on the road, the rail line and air during the six weeks closure of the Abuja airport.

The IG said: “On the whole, our deployment on the ground is perfect because we have the various units of the Nigeria Police Force in charge of specialised units.

“We have the force Explosive Ordinance Department (EOD); we have the force animals in charge of dogs; we have the patrol team and the mobile force as well as the air wing. As I stated, all the units are deployed fully on the ground.”

The Nigerian Air Force also said Monday that it would increase its surveillance along the Abuja-Kaduna Road.
Director of Public Relations and Information, Nigerian Air Force, Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa, told THISDAY that the air force was doing all it could to provide efficient security services.

He said the air force, as part of the security committee, had been mandated to provide adequate security for the period.

Famuyiwa said: “The committee has been set up and the air force is part of it. It’s a joint effort involving all the security agencies.

“The air force is working with other security agencies to provide security along the Abuja-Kaduna axis. It is tasked with providing air patrol along the Abuja-Kaduna highway.”
He stated that the air force had done this in the past, adding: “We will intensify our efforts on surveillance. We will increase the number of air patrolmen.”

Train Shuttle to the Rescue

The Minister of Transportation, Amaechi, said government had concluded arrangements to provide free train transportation service for Abuja-bound passengers to and from Kaduna.

He said the train services would be rearranged to suit the flight schedules at Kaduna airport, adding that trains would be coming from Kaduna instead of the current arrangement.

He said the Kaduna airport runway was in perfect shape, explaining, however, that the air conditioning and ceiling facilities were yet to be completed as of Friday when the federal government team led by the acting President Osinbajo inspected the airport.

Amaechi said from what was done, the work was nearing completion and the contractor had promised to deliver it before today.

Also speaking, the Minister of State for Aviation, Sirika, pleaded with air travellers to bear with the government on the closure of the Abuja airport, explaining that the decision to shut it down for rehabilitation was for the safety of all.

‘Kaduna Airport is Ready’

According to Sirika, part of the Kaduna airport terminal building had been completed, adding that much work had been done to ensure smooth operations.

He said over N5 billion would be expended on the runway rehabilitation at Abuja, adding that the ministry had provided a dedicated website (www.abujaairportclosure.info) to update airport users on the operations at Kaduna during the period.

Ethiopian Airline, the minister said, was the only foreign airline that expressed its readiness to fly the airport so far, but he expressed hope that more airlines would key in and operate from the airport.

Also, the Kaduna airport manager of the fire department, Abubakar Danladi Shebe, told THISDAY that the department was fully prepared for international flights and heavy traffic that would take place at the airport from March 8.

He said that FAAN had deployed additional fire tenders to the airport, adding that before Tuesday, the fire service at the airport would have an additional 57 personnel.

“We are preparing to make sure we meet set targets for March 8. We have effective cover for bigger aircraft that may start arriving from that date,” Shebe said.

When THISDAY visited the Kaduna airport, work had been completed on the Instrument Landing System (ILS) and the Voice Omnidirectional Radio (VOR) range to ensure they are in working condition for the additional services to be provided by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).

The Kaduna airport manager, Amina Ozi-Salami, told THISDAY that the runway, which is over three kilometres in length, was in good condition and the airfield lighting had been rehabilitated for landing of aircraft in the night.
“We, right now have a Category 9 status. The Kaduna airport is ready for flights, which will start from March 8, 2017,” she said.

It was also observed that the Kaduna State Government has opened roads connecting the airport to the railways station so that passengers can access the railway station with ease.

Bristow Shuttle from Minna

In addition to the train and bus shuttles to be provided by the federal government, Bristow Helicopters has moved its fixed wing service from Abuja to Minna instead of Kaduna, with a dedicated helicopter service from Minna to the VIP tarmac at the Abuja airport.

The company operates Embraer 135 special fixed wing flights from Lagos to Abuja and would start operating the Abuja helicopter flight to and from Minna from Wednesday.

THISDAY tried to find out from Bristow how much it would charge to airlift passengers from Minna to Abuja, but the airline said it could not publish the fares because it would be against Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) regulations, explaining that it was not a scheduled airline operator.

Although the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) assured air travellers that there would also be an helicopter shuttle service from Kaduna to Abuja airport, but so far only Bristow Helicopters has indicated interest in the service, but would be operating from Minna, which is closer to Abuja than Kaduna and takes about 25 minutes by helicopter.

For interested passengers, Bristow will be offering special flight services from Lagos to Minna and from the Niger State capital it would shuttle passengers by helicopter to the Abuja airport.

The company in a statement said: “Bristow Helicopters (Nigeria) Limited will continue to offer its Lagos-Abuja fixed-wing charter service via Minna Airport during the closure of the runway at Abuja airport.

“Commencing 8 March 2017, Bristow will operate a daily flight from Lagos to Minna utilising an Embraer 135 aircraft with 37 seating capacity.

“At Minna airport, Bristow will operate a helicopter shuttle service to and from Abuja airport for its customers.”
Bristow’s Head of Business Development, Mayowa Babatunde, stated: “After several safety and operational reviews, we are pleased with the state of the runway and conditions of the Minna airport located in Niger State, North-central Nigeria.

“We will use Minna to continue the provision of seamless charter air travel to Abuja for corporate and business organisations. We want to assure our clients of a continuous impeccable flight service for which the Bristow brand is synonymous.”

From the Minna Airport, Bristow will provide helicopter shuttle services to the VIP wing of the Abuja airport.
Two Bristow helicopters, a Sikorsky S-92 and S-76, with the capacity to fly 19 and 12 passengers, respectively, will provide shuttle services between Minna and Abuja airport.