Top officials of the Ministry of Aviation and stakeholders in the industry will on Thursday brainstorm on ways to handle the challenges that may emerge from the planned six-week closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The Minister of State Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, had recently hinted of plans to temporarily shut down the airport to fix the runway and the taxi ways.
Since the minister announced the plan, the industry players, especially foreign airlines, have declared that the authorities had not communicated the decision to them.
When the Abuja airport is shutdown, the Federal Government plans to use the Kaduna International Airport to ensure “seamless and hitch-free operations” for the operators.
In a statement issued on Monday by the Aviation Ministry’s Deputy Director of Information, Mr. James Odaudu, he said that the stakeholders’ forum will take place in Abuja on Thursday.
He said that the meeting was in line with the government’s belief in ventilating people’s opinions in formulating and executing policies.
Odaudu said that invited stakeholders are expected to make their contributions and key-in to the plans to make their operations less problematic during the period.
According to him, the government is aware of the likely high level of discomfort and inconvenience the proposed closure of the airport would cause air transport passengers, airline operators and other service providers.
He however explained that the decision was informed by safety and security concerns, stressing that government would rather lose billions of dollars in revenue than risk the lives of air travellers.
The ministry added that other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and organisations, including security agencies, the Kaduna State Government, and the media are expected to play key roles during the closure of the Abuja airport.
Senator Sirika announced the government’s plan to shut down the Abuja Airport during an unscheduled visit to monitor operations at the airport during the Yuletide.
