Lagos airport runway closed, airlines predict flight delays

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By Funmilayo Fabunmi

July 7, 2022

The inner runway at Murtala Muhammed Lagos Airport will be completely closed for three months to allow for some repairs and the installation of airfield lighting.

The development means that international and local airlines will use the international runway (18R/36L) for landing and take-off during the three-month period.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria confirmed the runway closure on Wednesday in a statement titled Airfield Lighting Installation: FAAN to Close Domestic Runway 18L/36R.

The statement reads in part as follows: "As part of efforts to improve the safety and efficiency of flight operations at Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has entered into agreements to complete the installation of the CAT III Airfield Ground Lighting System on Runway 18L/36R.The project, which will effectively commence on Friday 8th July 2022, is expected to last 90 days.

“As a result, runway 18L/36R will be closed to flight operations during this period. However, stakeholders should note that there will be no disruption. All normal flight operations will be conducted on runway 18R/36L. A NOTAM (Notice to Air Men) to this effect has already been issued and circulated accordingly.”

The statement was issued by the Acting Director General, Corporate Affairs, FAAN, Ms. Faithful A. Hope-Ivbaze.

FAAN is said to have held a meeting with air operators on Tuesday, during which the timetable and modalities were communicated.

However, airline operators and industry watchers have said there may be minor flight delays during the period.

A former chief executive of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency and CEO of Topbrass Aviation Services, Roland Iyayi, predicted that local airlines would bear more of the brunt of the shutdown.

Iyayi said, "With the closure of the inner runway, you have additional traffic delays, in and out of Lagos, both domestic and international. For national carriers, this will mean additional fuel costs. International flights will be pretty much unaffected as they have an estimated time of arrival. To a large extent they don't necessarily expect undue delays, if you know the peak times for international flights, between early morning and late evening, so with more flights arriving in the evening and departing late on tonight, I expect minimal impact to be on international airlines. Domestic carriers will be the ones to bear it the most as it means they will have to do the whole taxi journey from domestic to international and it is an additional fuel cost. Wait time and of course tax time, all of these things add up to cost and that is the problem that carriers will have to deal with."

The President of the Association of Foreign Airlines and Representatives in Nigeria, Kingsley Nwokeoma, however, expressed hope that the government agency would complete the job within the stipulated time.

He said: "Apparently we should always keep in mind that the runways are major operational facilities and if you notice we always had runway issues and most of the time , you don't see both runways being functional and functionality is key because it's every airline's dream to have a runway that isn't overused, these are runways that the big birds keep landing on .

“The major effect will be that international and local carriers will use a particular track, which is not operationally sound. Hope we pray that FAAN and NAMA will fix this in time and very well. »