l-r Festus Keyamo,aviation minister and Kabir Mohammed,MD FAAN.

The international terminal of the Murtala Muhammed Airport that was commissioned in 1979 by General Olusegun Obasanjo the then Nigerian head of state is now an  eyesore.It does not potray good image  of the country.

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development,Barrister Festus Keyamo has directed that all the international airlines to move to the new terminal that was commissioned in 2022 by President Muhammadu Buhari by October 1,2023.

Speaking during his inspection tour of facilities at the Lagos Airport yesterday,Keyamo said the old terminal will be shut down and sort out all the issues regarding the old terminal.

“The old terminal is an eyesore, the lifts are not working, the passage coming in, it is very unwelcoming for those coming in. no air-conditioning, and we have this new terminal that the Chinese built, Nigerians have been asking why are they not using this terminal?”

He said that new buses will be procure to convey passengers from the old terminal to the new one.

I don’t know how this new terminal was designed without a provision to take the big planes. So I don’t know what happens, I have been asking question as to how they will design an international gateway like the lagos terminal without a provision to take the big planes, you don’t have the aviobridges that can link to the big planes, that has been the problem”

“Meanwhile 60% of the revenue of FAAN comes in from the Lagos gateway. It is one of the major gateways into the country. So what is the solution to this? I have said we must use what we have for now.”

Keyamo gives owners of abandoned and unserviceable aircraft to remove them within three months from the Airport.

The Minister promised he will not interfere with the regulatory agency,the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority that  it is fully independent.