TheCable

A Nigerian traveller has raised concerns over the state of infrastructure at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos.

Dami Ebele, a director and scriptwriter, made the complaints in a tweet on Sunday.

She said the roofs at the airport are leaking, adding that the baggage carousel is also broken.

“The entire Murtala Muhammed International Airport is leaking. Everywhere,” she tweeted.

“Emirates had to give them a blanket to wipe the entrance into the ramp from the plane.

“They had to move the AC from the wall because water was leaking on it.

“Puddles everywhere. Wild. Nigeria can’t be real.

“How can an airport not have cental cooling system? The immigration place was smelling like piss.

“Then the baggage carousel? It’s broken. It’s even pushing bags off the carousel. And I saw this carousel when it was new a few years ago.

“Maintenance culture… zero. How can this be the first place someone sees when they fly in?”

The entire Murtala Muhammed International Airport is leaking.

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Everywhere.

Emirates had to give them a blanket to wipe the entrance into the ramp from the plane.

They had to move the AC from the wall because water was leaking on it.

Puddles everywhere. WILD.

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— The (@DamiElebe) June 19, 2022

NIGERIA’S TRANSPORT SECTOR AND MMIA’S REALITY

Nigeria’s transport sector has grown significantly, contributing 1.65 percent to the economy in Q4 2021, a rise from 1.32 percent recorded the previous year.

In real terms, the country’s GDP climbed N20.33 trillion in 2021 — an uptick from 1.32 percent recorded in 2020.

Within the same period, the aviation sector grew 19.70 percent from a contraction of 36.98 percent in 2020 — owing to COVID disruption and global lockdown.

But despite the growth, MMIA, one of the busiest airports in Nigeria, seems to be experiencing dysfunctional problems with infrastructure.

In February, TheCable reported on how bad conveyor belts (baggage carousel), collapsed air conditioning and ventilation systems continue to frustrate travellers.

The Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had, however, said the conveyor belts were being serviced.

In March 2022, the federal executive council (FEC) approved the sum of N3.5 billion for aviation equipment in Lagos and Kano international airports.

But despite this, the situation seems not to be improving.

Meanwhile, efforts to get a comment from FAAN on the matter did not yield results as phone calls to the authority were not answered.