BA moves its operations to new Abuja terminal bringing the number of operators there to 12

BRITISH airline BA has become the latest carrier to relocate its operations to the new terminal of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja meeting the deadline for all operators to move there by April 30.

Aviation authorities recently carried out major refurbishing at the airport and it was commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari in December last year. At the commissioning, President Buhari said that with the new of terminal, Nigeria is moving towards achieving and meeting global aviation standards in facilitation, passenger processing and service delivery in tandem with international best practices.

As part of the restructure, the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) asked all airlines operating at the airport to move their operations to the new terminal by April 30. This morning, BA met that deadline when it landed its B777-300 flight with 220 passengers comprising 207 passengers and 13 crew members in Abuja.

With the relocation of BA, all the 12 international airlines operating at the airport are now operating from the new terminal. Sani Mahmud, FAAN's regional general manager, said the relocation of BA to the terminal would lead to full utilisation of the facility, saying it would help the authority streamline its international operations.

He promised that management would ensure that the facility is properly maintained and sanity prevails at the terminal. Mr Mahmud called on other foreign airlines to take advantage of the facility to extend their operations to the airport, adding that the terminal had the space for passengers comfort.

Mr Mahmud added: “We are feeling fulfilled, as we started with the commissioning of the airport by Mr President on the 20th of December 2018 and we prepared and started receiving flights immediately into the terminal with Asky. Today, all our 12 international airlines have moved in, the last being BA.

“We are sincerely grateful to government for providing this edifice and you can see from the faces of the passengers that they are all happy to be in a new facility like this. We want to assure Nigerians and the world that the team in Abuja airport is competent enough to maintain this facility.

“We are only hoping for more international airlines in view of the facilities and the fact that Abuja airport is certified because we have been the best in safety in Africa, 2018. We believe that with these credentials, more international airlines will come into Abuja airport."