TheCable

The federal government says only one foreign airline has agreed to use the Kaduna international airport while Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja runway is closed for repairs.

Speaking at a news conference in Abuja on Monday, Hadi Sirika, minister of aviation, said only Ethiopian Airlines, a foreign carrier,  had agreed to use the Kaduna airport.

However, he added that more foreign airlines were expected to come on stream before Wednesday.

Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, who formally announced the closure of the Abuja airport runway, said the facility would be shut down at 12 am on Wednesday.

Also speaking, Chibuike Amaechi, minister of transportation, said proper measures had been put in place to the make the Kaduna airport, the alternative facility,  safe for travellers.

The airport would be closed for six weeks.

TheCable understands that pre-departure procedures will still take place at the Abuja airport.

In January, the government mulled the closure of the single runway for repairs. But Nigerians cried out against the plan.

The senate waded into the matter, and it called on the government to consider carrying out the repairs in phases instead of shutting the runway down, but the government insisted that the facility would be shut down for safety reasons.