Festus Keyamo, the minister of aviation and aerospace development, has put the contentious Nigeria Air Project and the airport concessions that Muhammadu Buhari, the recently-past president, had started on hold.
Controversies have surrounded the Nigeria Air project as well as the concessions of the airports at Lagos, Abuja, Kano, and Port Harcourt.
On his first visit to Lagos and on a tour of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Keyamo suspended all plans and preparations for the envisioned national airline, Nigeria Air.
Keyamo highlighted that the new Lagos terminal had not been exploited as much as it could have since it could not accommodate wide-bodied aircraft. He said that the airlines will continue to utilise the terminal while the government purchased large buses to transport passengers.
The old international terminal at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos would be closed by October 1, 2023, he added, and all private hangars, including Dominion Hangar and EAN Hangar, would be relocated to make room for the new terminal’s expansion.
“The old terminal has received the most criticism. For Nigerian visitors, that location is a disgrace. The lifts are broken. There is no air conditioner, and the hallway is uninviting. The new terminal is here, but it is inoperable. Big planes weren’t considered while it was being developed, according to Keyamo.
