Chinedu Eze
Domestic flight operations may have recorded the highest passenger traffic during the 2021 yuletide season than at any other time in the history of air transport in Nigeria, analysts have said.
Findings by THISDAY also showed that the terminal facilities were stretched to breaking point, thereby causing delays as they provided services to more than the number of flights they had ever served in the past.
It was also gathered that facilities at the two domestic terminals at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos: the Terminal 1, known as General Aviation Terminal (GAT) and Terminal 2, known as MMA2, were overstretched with passenger and baggage congestions.
Also, there were congestion at the Check-in counters, baggage conveyor belts, security processing bays, waiting halls, boarding gates and on the ramp.
On December 21, 2021 MMA2 suffered carousel (conveyor belt) breakdown, leaving passengers waiting for a long time before collecting their luggage.
The GAT was so congested that passenger movement was at standstill and two X-ray machines for security screening were so inadequate that it was difficult to screen travellers within the ideal one minutes, 30 seconds, as recommended by the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO).
It was same experience at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, where flights were delayed for hours because the processing of passengers was slow from December 20th to 28th, THISDAY gathered.
The same congestion was experienced at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, The Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport, Owerri, the Margret Ekpo International Airport, Calabar and the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa.
THISDAY also learnt that besides passenger congestion at the terminals, it was also very difficult to move baggage, especially at MMA2, at GAT and at Abuja domestic terminal.
The Director of Engineering, Ibom Air, Lukeman Animaseun, while speaking with THISDAY, confirmed the difficulty in luggage facilitation at the MMA2, saying it caused delays in flight take-off.
“There was luggage delays, which affected take off time of flights. There were tons and tons of luggage waiting for screening at MMA2 but the conveyor belt was bad and this problem has become persistent at the terminal.
“It was similar problem at the GAT, from the feedback I got from Air Peace, which operates there. Also we have been experiencing ramp congestion at MMA2 and it is becoming a serious issue,” Animaseun told THISDAY.
The Managing Director of Overland Airways, Captain Edward Boyo also expressed disappointment over the terminal facilities at the airports.
He said most of the delays during the Christmas period was not caused by airlines but by infrastructure limited at the airports.
“The airport infrastructure failed to develop with the population and traffic growth over the years and that’s what should be addressed. Even with the infrastructure we have presently, we can do better by improving internal efficiency of passenger flow rate within the terminals and airplane flow rates within the terminal airspace, especially with two runways in Lagos.
“If you look at these two parameters critically, you will agree that airlines are the victims of airport and airspace operations,” Boyo said.
Also the Chief Operating Officer of Dana Air, Mr. Obi Mbanuzuo, told THISDAY that all the terminal facilities at most airports in Nigeria become inadequate during peak flight periods like the yuletide season.
“All our terminals including the international ones are in adequate for peak passenger demand. Check-in counters, baggage conveyor belts, security processing bays, waiting halls, boarding gates and on the ramp, parking/manoeuvre areas for aircraft are in adequate.
“This leads to aircraft blocking each other every morning at MMA2, causing delays as those parked at the jet bridges cannot pushback and depart as other aircraft are parked behind blocking them in for the night,” Mbanuzuo said.
Also, the Managing Director for Flight and Logistics Solutions Limited, Amos Akpan, told THISDAY that airports in Nigeria need to be managed as business enterprises so that they would be modernised and expanded to meet the growing passenger traffic.
“The congestions and failures from their infrastructures are problems that they should have envisaged. Airlines file their schedules with the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and the airports. The airports should have anticipated the increase in traffic.
“We knew the roads are not safe for travel. We knew Nigerians travel more during the Christmas season. These factors make for the seasons increase in traffic, which happens every year.
The conveyor belts, seating arrangements in the halls, parking bay in the ramps, air-conditioning, screening machines should have been expanded.
“These are equipment and services that would be affected by the increase in traffic. The management should simply deploy strategies to keep them serviceable while working under the pressure of the season,” he said.
Reacting to the challenges caused by the conveyor belt for baggage handling at the airport, an official of the Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited told THISDAY that the problem with the conveyor belt has been rectified.
However, the Manager of the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport, Mrs. Rejoice Ndudinachi, told THISDAY that the passenger surge at the airport was still on, saying what was different this Christmas season was that inbound and outbound passenger traffic was very heavy.
She noted that passenger movement had remained unabated despite the fact that Christmas day had been celebrated.
