Excitement as Kano airport resumes hitch-free operations
By Ahmad Sorondinki
As the first airport in the West African sub-region, the aviation industry in Nigeria will not want to toy with safety standards at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA).
It was the first airport where an aircraft landed in Nigeria in 1922, with operations starting in 1936.
In the first decades of operation, it became an important fuel stop for airlines flying long-haul services between Europe and Africa.
In order to translate its words into actions, it recently upgraded facilities in order to conform to international standards.
In the last twenty years, apart from the EAS Airline fatal accident, the Airport has never recorded any fatalities due to the priority it accorded to maintenance culture by upgrading its facilities especially the runways.
Daily Times in a visit to the Airport observed the readiness of the fire fighters despite the lull in flight operation due to the coronavirus pandemic which led to the suspension of flights, both domestic and international.
The Airport is sustaining a strong motorized maintenance team to make sure there are no potholes on the runways following the commencement of the rainy season.
MAKIA is located in the Northeast of the ancient city of Kano and was named after the prominent politician, Mallam Aminu Kano, the defender of the downtrodden masses.
Despite abandoning the airport by previous administration, Kano’s business communities at a stage cried out over the marginalization of the Airport, alleging that the facilities installed were substandard.
The then chairman of Kano Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Umar Rabiu Dansileka, addressed a Press Conference attended by the business community where they lamented that all the facilities commissioned by the previous administration were substandard and would soon fail.
He said it was regrettable that Kano airport which was established in 1922, and the first airport in the country which had been used to promote commercial activities, particularly in the North, was now a shadow of its old self.
The group attributed the low human, cargo and general lull in aviation activities to what it termed neglect of MAKIA by relevant authorities even as it disputed claims linking the decline in aviation activities to insecurity especially the Boko Haram insurgency.
He pointed out that most international airlines which hitherto used the airport such as KLM, British Airways, Alitalia, Sabena, Swiss Air, among other chartered airlines have now abandoned the airport.
Dansileka said this development has created untold hardship to the Northern business community, pointing out that effort by the stakeholders to find ways of addressing the situation revealed that a number of manmade factors were responsible.
A regular traveler through MAKIA, Alh Inuwa Mudi, confirmed the night landing facilities are in perfect shape. “The airport has alternative landing facilities at night while the safe tower project constructed for the equipment, which was purchased in 2008, is now functional.
“The passenger lounge is well equipped with facilities, ranging from conveyor belts, electric checkin counters, furniture for passengers convenience, central air-condition system. Passengers will not have to wait for two to three hours to disembark with their luggage.”
According to him, the x-ray screening machines are conspicuously noticeable, same as the screening cubicles for security agents like Immigration, NDLEA and others are now present at the departure and arrival halls.
“The conveyer belts installed at the arrival hall are the originally recommended belts, just as the toilet facilities are wearing a new look.” Currently, facilities at the Airport have undergone a series of transformations ranging from the installation of a 21st century control tower.
The 05- and 0-6 runways have all been renovated. The new departure hall was also compartmentalised for both VIPs and other categories of passengers.
Security has been beefed up as Police, DSS, NDLEA, Civil defence personnel alongside other security outfits watch over operations at the facility.
To avoid disorder, MAKIA Authorities built a separate arrival and departure hall for pilgrims which are manned by officials that are conversant with Hajj and Umrah operations.
They also ensure hitch-free boarding in compliance with COVID-19 preventive protocols and ensure that the sitting arrangements within the aircraft are in tune with social distancing protocol.
Apart from that, they also ensure all passengers use sanitisers and wash their hands prior to boarding the craft.
It was observed that cleaners were stationed at specific points within the arrival and departure halls to ensure a neat environment.
Non-travellers were barred from entering both the departure and arrival halls to make sure there is less human traffic. Unlike in the past, MAKIA staff are now a lot more friendly with passengers and visitors whom they often guide to their designated seats.
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In a chat with one of the passengers, Alhaji Aminu Isa, about his impression on the state of facilities at the airport, he said the place had improved compared to previous years.
He said that with a new control tower and terminal, one could attest to the fact that MAKIA is wearing a new look as all access roads within and outside the facility have been renovated.
According to him, Kano Airport can be compared with other international airports in terms of state-of-the-art facilities.
