The Murtala Muhammed Airport played host to Stella Oduah, Minister of Aviation who was on tour of facilities at the airport on Tuesday.
Facilities inspected include the Extended Departure and Arrival Halls, new in-bound baggage reclaim carousels, on-going construction work on “Fingers” as well as Transit Facilities.
The extended Departures Halls feature 5 nos state –of-the-art screening machines and 2 nos Body Scanner at each of the wings in addition 30 nos new immigration counters.
A distinguishing feature of the new screening machines is the ability to detect explosive materials and potential threat items real time with the lowest rate of false alarm.
The introduction of 30 nos new immigration counters as against the previous 9 nos promises to take the face of facilitation in MMA to another level. Also inspected were the newly installed in-bound baggages reclaim carousels at each of the Arrivals Halls. The high- speed carousels are smoother, easier – to- maintain and more resistant to luggage jams than their decades – old predecessors. This translates into accelerated baggage retrieval, reduced waiting – time and improved travel experience.
Highlight of the visit was the inspection of the on-going construction of 2 new additional fingers as well as new Transit Facilities.
The visit afforded journalists the opportunity to appreciate, first hand, the cause of some leakages experienced at the Terminal some time ago. Briefing the Minister, the Director of Maintenance and Engineering & Ag. MD of FAAN, Femi Ogunode explained that the construction work on the new Fingers affected the sealant on the existing Terrance on which the Fingers are built, resulting in dripping of water in some sections of the Terminal. He said measures have been put in place to check the so-called leakages, promising that services levels in the airport will continue to be tailored to passengers needs.
The two new additional Fingers located on the 2nd level of the Terminal building and each measuring 3,074 sq m, and seating atop the existing Fingers represent a major capacity increase with all the attendant benefits.
Hitherto, arriving and departing passengers made common use of the Fingers, although with a glass partition separating them. With the new development, each of the two new Fingers will be exclusively for Departures while the existing ones will be dedicated to Arrivals, thus enhancing safety, security, and facilitation.
The Transit Facility, located on the 3rd floor of the Terminal building, features 9 standard lounge, and 20 hotel rooms for transiting passengers .Transit Facility is a major requirement for a hub operations. With this development, MMA is set for a sub –regional hub status in line with President Goodluck Jonathan’s vision.
