FAAN orders evacuation of abandoned aircraft at MMA

The Management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has mandated owners of abandoned aircraft at the Murtala Muhammed Airport to evacuate the planes within the next seven days.

It stated that it was ready to dispose of such aircraft if the owners failed to heed the directive, stressing that this was in line with the provisions of the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

The Director of Airport Operations, Capt. Henry Omeogu, disclosed this while on a safety inspection at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Domestic Terminal 1.

Omeogu, in a statement from the authority on Wednesday, said the action had become necessary due to recurring operational hitches that had posed serious safety concerns to aircraft and some infrastructure at the terminal.

He appealed to the owners of the aircraft, some of which had been parked since 2005, to immediately remove them, to forestall situations where unscrupulous elements would use abandoned aircraft as hiding places to perpetuate criminal activities.

He added that the authority would continue to do everything possible to ensure the safety and security of all travellers and other airport users, as this was in line with its mission statement.

Omeogu enjoined all stakeholders to partner with the FAAN to ensure safer and more secure airports.