Abuja Airport Reopens after 6-week Closure

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport in Abuja has been reopened for business after undergoing repairs for six weeks.

Last month, the Federal Government closed the Abuja airport in order to repair the runway and it was meant to be reopened on Wednesday, April 19, 2017, but the contractor handling the project, Julius Berger, finished the repairs ahead of time.

At the reopening ceremony today, Julius Berger handed over the runway to the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), saying the runway was now in perfect condition with the lighting fitted.

Speaking with newsmen at the ceremony, Minister of State for Aviation, Mr Hadi Sirika, expressed delight at beating “the deadline” of reopening the airport.

He said the airport’s runway, which is “100 percent completed,” was “certified by Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)” for use.

Meanwhile, the Ethiopian Airline, which was the foreign airline that agreed to use the Kaduna Airport used as an alternative during the repairs, was the first to land on the Abuja airport on Tuesday when it was reopened.