The Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah, has explained why the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport was shut down on Thursday.
In a statement by her Special Assistant of Media, Joe Obi, the
minister confirmed that all flights into Abuja have been temporarily
suspended till further notice.
The minister’s spokesperson said, “A Saudi Arabian B747 cargo
aircraft landed in Abuja last night and veered off at the manoeuvring
area of the runway, ran into a maintenance area of the runway and
stopped.”
Mr. Obi said flights into Abuja airport were put on hold so as to
facilitate evacuation effort on the runway. He said normal operations
will resume immediately the aircraft is removed.
According to the statement, the Group Corporate Communications
Manager of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, Yakubu Dati, said
no casualty was recorded while plans are underway to move the aircraft
away following a preliminary assessment visit by Accident Investigation
and Prevention Bureau AIPB, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority NCAA,
Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, and other relevant agencies.
The statement also said that the Saudi plane incident was not a plane
crash and apologised to travellers and airport users for inconveniences
caused. It added that concerted effort was being intensified to remove
the obstacle and restore normalcy while the public would be updated as
progress is made towards restoring normal operations at the airport.
The airport problem also hindered all planes leaving the Nigerian
capital, as the affected runway is believed to be the only standard one.
Already, Arik and Aero, two of the largest domestic airline
operators, have cancelled all flights from the Abuja airport on
Thursday.
No comments:
Post a Comment