Abuja Airport Closure: Four domestic Airlines Prefer Minna to Kaduna

Four domestic airline operators are pressing for approvals from aviation authority to make use of Minna Airport despite the preference and insistence of the Federal government for the use of Kaduna Airport.
This request is coming on the heels of challenges being encountered by airline operators due to the closure of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport by the Federal government and the diversion of all Abuja bound flights to Kaduna Airport pending the completion of the repairs on the runway of Abuja airport.
Aviation source said over 5,000 domestic and international flights to Abuja may have been cancelled due to the choice of Kaduna, as all but one international airline and some domestic operators are opposed to the alternative airport.
It was gathered at the weekend that the four airline operators are pressing for Minna Airport in view of its standard runway, which is adjudged as one of the best in the country and for the renovation efforts on the facility by the Niger State government.
It was further gathered that the operators also advanced Minna’s proximity to Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and the massive repairs on Minna-Suleja Road being carried out by the state government for their choice over the Kaduna Airport.
Two of the airlines that operate chartered flights planned to leverage on the recent lift of ban on usage of helicopters within Abuja air space to airlift their passengers to the capital city from Minna.
“As at the last count four airlines have made case and will prefer to use Minna Airport instead of Kaduna. Its proximity to Abuja, the facilities on ground and the renovation work on the airport by Niger State government are the reasons advanced by the airlines,” a Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) staff disclosed.
It will be recalled that in the last one week, the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki had made use of the airport. Penultimate Monday, he made an unofficial inspection of the Minna Airport on his way to Abuja following the closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
Also on Sunday one of the local airlines pushing for Minna airport airlifted him to Abuja after a visit to former military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida.