The Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, the nation’s apex Airport, has come under fire following the breakdown of the airport cooling system which has subjected the travellers to torment. Travellers and airport users have given the airport a new name ‘hell airport’ due to the suffocating heat they have had to endure, especially at the departure lounge of the airport and through to the checking-in area. A visit to the airport last week showed that while the inadequate air-conditioning system (split units) mounted at various points at the airport appear to be working, they actually blew hot air and needed to undergo maintenance, while passengers and security personnel were seen sweating profusely, their hankerchiefs providing only little help.The General Manager, Public
Affairs, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr. Akin Olukunle, confirmed that the cooling system at the airport was inadequate for the size of the airport and the number of passengers that it handled on a daily basis. He said the current problem at the airport was as a result of the breakdown of the chillers which the air conditioners systems supported.
According to him, passengers and airport users would have to endure the heat until a later date while maintenance work is being carried out on the existing chillers by FAAN maintenance engineers. He did not say exactly when the situation would improve.
He, however, added that already the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Uduah, had disclosed that the airport would undergo some remodeling, adding that problems such as this would be adequately handled when the remodeling programme was implemented.
LEADERSHIP notes that no time has been scheduled for the remodeling programme, and it would be a shame to continue to subject t travellers and airport users to such a harrowing experience, especially when the global aviation industry was focusing attention on airport facilitation and travellers’ comfort.
Industry watchers have attributed the current situation at the airport to the lack of maintenance culture on the part of FAAN, the airport operator.
Security personnel who spoke under anonymity to this reporter at the security check -in point at airport described the situation as terrible and appealed to FAAN to come to their aid.