Kaduna Airport Hosts 43,000 Passengers In 11 Days
The Presidency has announced that the Kaduna Airport recorded not less than 43,000 passengers in its first 11 days of operations as the alternative to the Abuja Airport.
It also said about 10,000 passengers took advantage of its free Bus Shuttle between the Abuja and Kaduna Airports.
A presidential source who pleaded for anonymity said this was contained in the latest data submitted to the Presidency by the Federal Government Coordinating Committee overseeing the management of the Airport repair, closure and relocation.
The Abuja Airport runway was closed for operations on Wednesday March 8, to enable the reconstruction of the entire runway, the Minister of State (Aviation) Hadi Sirika has said.
The airport originally constructed in 1982 has not had the runway repaired despite the fact that it was built to last no more than 25 years.
The reconstruction now in the third week is being handled by Julius Berger Nigeria Limited. The repairs is for six weeks.
According to the source, this number of passengers recorded in the first 11 days was more compared to 41,000 passengers it recorded in the entire first quarter of 2015, and the 21,000 it recorded in the first quarter of 2016.
Quoting the report submitted to the presidency, the source said the free Bus Shuttle conveys passengers between Abuja and Kaduna Airports, starting at the Abuja Airport at 6 o’clock in the morning, and at the Kaduna Airport from 8 a.m. “The Shuttle takes three hours from Airport to Airport, and runs every 30 minutes, until the arrival of the last daily flight in Kaduna.
“The Shuttle is in addition to the Federal Government’s free Train Service between Abuja and Kaduna. The two-and-half-hour Train Service departs Abuja’s Idu Station for Kaduna at 6 a.m., 11.55 a.m. and 5.45 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays; and departs Kaduna’s Rigasa Station for Abuja at 9 a.m., 2.50 p.m. and 8.40 p.m.”
According to the report, the Federal Government’s Coordinating Committee, comprising senior officials of the Ministry of Aviation, its parastatals (FAAN, NCAA, NAMA, AIB), and security and emergency agencies (Police, FRSC, DSS, NEMA), chaired by Sirika, meet weekly to review operations, collate statistics, and implement internal and external feedback.
The report also stated that a total of 173 Police Patrol Vehicles, and 2,400 police personnel – drawn from the Police Mobile Force, Counter Terrorism Unit, Special Anti-Robbery Squad, and others were deployed along the Abuja-Kaduna Highway and the Abuja-Kaduna Rail Line.
Equally deployed are 30 Police Motorcycles along the rail tracks, 2 Patrol Helicopters along the rail and road routes, and 10 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) at strategic points on the routes, including the Airports and Train Stations.
According to the source, the April 19th date for reopening remains sacrosanct.
According to the source, after the Abuja Airport reopens for operations on April 19, upgrade works on the runway will continue for another 18 weeks. “This second phase of upgrade works on the runway will be carried out at night, with no disruption to flight schedules, the Presidency official further disclosed.”l
The source added that a media tour to allow reporters observe and assess the progress on the Abuja Airport runway repair will hold this week, as the repair is about its mid-point on Weenesday.
The FG’s Coordinating Committee has launched a series of Customer Engagement initiatives to enable passengers and travellers affected by the closure get up-to-date information and updates. These include a Call Center (open 7am to 10pm Mondays to Fridays and 10am to 4pm Saturdays and Sundays), a website (AbujaAirportClosure.info).
Credit: The Sun
