Kaduna Airport is not up to standard says House Of Representatives

 The Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport was recently shut down by the federal government for the repairs of its runways. The House of Representatives is raising an alarm concerning the alleged danger its members have discovered at the Kaduna airport supposedly an alternative

The Kaduna International Airport is a huge disaster waiting to happen, members of the House of Representatives have warned.

According to the federal lawmakers, the ministry of Aviation should not even have contemplated allowing operations at the airport since it falls short of standards.

The House of Representatives say the Kaduna airport is a disaster waiting to happen

The lawmakers said the airport does not even match both domestic and international standards for safety and as such should have been in operation.

The airport commenced operation temporarily as the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport was shut down for repairs on its runways.

The chairman of the House committee on loan, aids and debt management, Adeyinka Ajayi, who flew through the airport on Thursday, March 23, 2017, lamented on the floor of the chamber: “God forbid that an aircraft should drop from the skies due to our own errors. This is what we should not pray to happen.

“It can happen to anybody. Safety standards are not being adhered to at the airport.”

The lawmaker pleaded with his colleagues, through a motion for the aviation ministry to ensure safety standards at the airport to avert any disaster pending the fixing of the Abuja airport.

Ajayi, moved a motion on the need for aviation authorities to keep to their promises of maintaining safety standards in Kaduna prior to the closure of the Abuja airport.

“Aircraft manoeuvring and parking space is allegedly inadequate to accommodate the high number of aircraft now operating in and out of the airport.

“Further disturbed that some aviation marketers have been allegedly transferring Jet A-1 fuel from bulk road tankers directly into bowers right on the tarmac and discharging same into aircraft.

“All of these poses a lot of danger to passengers and aircraft safety,” he added.

His colleague, Nnenna Ukeje, lamented that the lives of passengers and aircraft were exposed to danger at the Kaduna airport.

She recalled how she spent close to two hours after landing at the airport just to get access to her luggage.

According to her, “The Kaduna airport experiment has obviously failed.”

On his part, Hassan Saleh representing Ogbadibo, Ado and Okpokwu federal constituency, told his colleagues of his experience at the airport. To him, the experiment conducted with the use of the airport has ended in disappointment.

He said: “It is a disaster waiting to happen. Security measures at that airport have collapsed. You could see that the security personnel are even overwhelmed by the crowds.

“They no longer conduct full security checks because of the huge crowds.”