The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has suspended the extension of operating hours to airlines flying into sunrise to sunset airports.
With this directive, operating hours would no longer be extended to airlines flying into airports like Kaduna, Owerri, Katsina, Asaba, Benin and other airports across the country.
Out of the 26 airports in the country, only five aerodromes like Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt, and Enugu operate 24-hour flight operations.
Sunset airports refer to aerodromes with out landing facilities, which means that airlines can only operate to between 7a.m to 6p.m.
Speaking at the 2022 Airline and Airport Business Summit in Lagos on Wednesday, Capt. Rabiu Yadudu said that FAAN would no longer grant extension hours to airlines that operate into such airports.
He said FAAN in collaboration with the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) took the decision in the interest of safety and security situations of the industry.
In case of a delay in the originating airport, Yadudu said the authority would take a decision on that in the future.
Also, Yadudu said that passenger traffic in Nigeria as of August 2022, had risen by 69 percent when compared to the same period in 2021.
He also added that aircraft movement increased by over 46 percent after the COVID-19, within the period under review.
In the area of car go movement, Yadudu disclosed that from 191,000 tons in 2020, the cargo movement increased to 381,000 tons in 2021, adding that the authority was working with other stakeholders in the air cargo logistics value chain to improve car go export.
Source: Independent
