TheCable

No fewer than 16,000 passengers were transported through the Kaduna International Airport (KIA) in the first five days of its replacement of the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport (NAIA).

Ibrahim Bwala, head, corporate affairs, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), disclosed this on Wednesday in Kaduna.

According to NAN, this data was recorded from March 8 to March 12 when flight operations switched from the NAIA to KIA.

Both domestic and international flights were shifted to Kaduna following the closure of the Abuja airport for the repair of its runway.

Bwala said that the airport successfully recorded 352 aircraft landings and departures from the domestic and international terminals within the period.

A breakdown showed that 7,230 passengers on domestic flights from different Nigerian cities arrived at the KIA, while 7, 726 passengers departed through the airport.

The airport made 162 landings, while 166 aircraft departed to various destinations within the country.

According to the data, 878 passengers arrived from and departed the airport to Ethiopia and Ghana through Ethiopian Airlines and Arik Air.

A breakdown showed that both airlines recorded 24 landings and departures within the period.

Bwala said other businesses had fully picked up at the airport, with taxi operators conveying passengers from the airport to their various destinations.