For frequent travellers to Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, these are not the best of times. Many travellers, including this reporter, have torrid tales to tell over their experiences travelling to and from Abuja enroute the Kaduna International airport.
Last Tuesday, this reporter set out for an originally scheduled 8:30 am Peace Air flight from from Lagos to Abuja but the flight didn’t take off until 10:00 am, even though it was earlier rescheduled till 9:20 am with the passengers duly notified. The flight was smooth and lasted one hour. But things turned sour when a luxurious bus detailed to take some passengers from Kaduna Airport to Abuja remained on ground for almost one hour. When it entually departed for Abuja, along with a smaller bus and armed escorts, both in front at the aback, a tortous and harzadous four-hour long journey commenced. The convoy literally crawled from Kaduna to Abuja. A passenger in one of the buses became pressed and asked the driver to stop to enable him ease himself but the driver said he couldn’t stop for security seasons. The man promptly messed himself up, hence the driver was forced to stop. The process of organising help for the passenger, who obviously needed first aid, and cleaning him up lasted a good one hour. Eventually, the trip from Lagos to Abuja lasted six hours. This made many of the travellers to wonder if it made any sense to travel by air to Abuja while the repair of the Abuja Airport runway lasts.
Nnenna Ukeje, chairman, House Committee on Foreign Relations, recalled spending close to two hours after landing at the airport, struggling to get her luggage and exit the environment. “The Kaduna airport experiment has obviously failed,” she stated.
Ukeje was emphatic that the lives of passengers and aircraft were exposed to danger at the Kaduna airport. According to her, the space provided for passengers and parking for aircraft was inadequate and could easily lead to accidents.
Indeed, due to the outcry of air travellers along that route, members of the House of Representatives on Thursday condemned aviation operations at the Kaduna International Airport. They said the airport fell short of the safety standards for both domestic and international flight operations.
Femi Gbajabiamila, majority Leader of the House, stated that the state of affairs at the airport might have vindicated the decision of most foreign airlines not to use the Kaduna airport. “If all the foreign airlines but one said they would not use Kaduna, was there something they knew that we did not know? If the airlines have chosen to lose money than fly into Kaduna, then there is a problem that we should be concerned about,” said he.
Mohammed Garba-Dhatti, former House Deputy Whip, from Kaduna State, rose in defence of the Kaduna Airport. To him, operations at the airport have been smooth in the last three weeks. “There have been sentiments expressed against this airport right from the beginning. That is what is still happening. Which of the airlines has made complaints that it has any problems at the airport?” he asked.
The Kaduna airport serves as alternative while the reconstruction of the runway of the Nmamdi Azikiwe International Airport lasts. This week marks the third since the Abuja airport was closed for the repair work and it is expected to last for another three weeks.