Mahmud Sani, Manager, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, says the approval of the second runway in the 2017 budget will make the airport the hub in air transport in West Africa.
Sani, who disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Friday in Abuja, said the current state of the airport had also made it the best in the country.
“Abuja airport, I believe is the best airport in Nigeria and it is our hope that with the second runway coming which gracefully has been approved in the 2017 budget, Abuja is a hub.
“We have installed the lift at terminal B. Before now, we had challenges with the aged and physically challenged and the place is stress free now.
“On the first of this month, we opened the terminal D. The terminal D houses the Arik, Air Peace and Dana Airlines.
“Hitherto, passengers of these airlines after checking in, they would have to trek to terminal B and board and the rain, the sun and the pressure was there.
“The pressure on terminal B where all these airlines wait for departures, it used to be congested and no matter how well the ACs works, the ventilation was difficult.
“So now, these three airlines’ passengers board through the terminal D, which is a great improvement on our facilitation.
“And we are confidently sure that with all these works we have done and the completion of Chinese terminal this year, Abuja has come to stay as a hub of the West Africa,’’ he said.
He added that the airport had become more passenger friendly since the return of operation from Kaduna.
The manager explained that work was still on-going at the top floor of the Terminal B where shops and eateries would be located.
Sani said that the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had boosted its manpower need at the airport to complement the expansion project being carried out.
He commended the Federal Government for a hitch-free operation at the Kaduna airport during the six weeks the Abuja airport was closed for rehabilitation.
“FAAN has conducted series of engagement of staff recently and a lot of these staff went for training at our head office and have been deployed to this airport to boost our manpower need.
“Our AVSEC (aviation Security) and the Air force are on ground to handle all those people around.
“If you go out now, you will never see people hanging in front of the terminal building because our AVSEC are stationed there.
“If you look up that new car pack up the hill there, there is the Air force vehicle permanently station there and there are personnel handling crowd movement around that place.
“I think we have sanitised the place and will continue to do it.’’