Abuja airport runway ready today, says FAAN boss

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Engr. Saleh Dunoma, has assured that the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja runway will be ready today, Monday, two days before the re-opening date of the runway for air traffic.

Dunoma, who disclosed this to newsmen in Abuja shortly after inspecting the runway, said the airport will be ready but will allow the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority to certify it with the remaining two days.

“We will be ready by Monday the April 17 but we are leaving the remaining two days for Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), because they have to certify the airport, that what we have done is in accordance with their standards. If they do that, we will bring in the traffic. But if they do not, we have the opportunity of making corrections with the two days we have saved”.

On the reopening of the runway on April 19, Dunoma said: “No doubt about that, we will open it as scheduled. Just as I have said, we have been working with NCAA throughout the period, they have been making corrections. But for formality, we need to check and make sure that all the necessary corrections meet the requirement of the civil aviation authority.”

According to the FAAN boss, the critical items of work are 100% except two items, the markings and the cleaning adding that other critical item which was not works but the inspection by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.

Dunoma stated that the NCAA will certify that the repairs that had been carried out was satisfactory and will then give the go ahead to bring in traffic to Abuja.

“Asphalt work is 100%, markings have reached almost 70%, the airfield lighting system has reached 80%,”said Dunoma
He explained that there was additional work which has nothing to do with repairs but will be put in order with the windows provided by the airport closure adding that the levelling of all the airfield lightings’ locations and all the installations and flash with the ground surface were being carried out.

Concerning the calibration of Navigational Aids: Dunoma said: “We have not tampered with the Navaids. We just worked on the runway. What we tampered with is the airfield lightings and the airfield lightings are being returned to the same position. The runway does not need calibration. All we need to check is to make sure there is 100 per cent illumination. Calibration is done periodically. When the time come for calibration, the appropriate authority will calibrate the Instrument Landing System (ILS).”

Dunoma said facilities at the terminal building were being improved upon by repairing the bad ones, adding: “We are improving on all the services there and repairing all the items that are bad”.