Stakeholders at the Port
Harcourt International airport, Omagwa, have expressed hope that usual business activities at the Port Harcourt airport would soon return.
Some of the stakeholders who spoke with The Tide on the scope and level of current business activities have attributed the downward trend in the business activities to the reconstruction work on-going at the airport, coupled with the economic situation in the country.
Speaking to The Tide Mr. Jonathan Amadi, a senior staff of one of the cargo handling firms at the airport, said that the reconstruction work at the airport had disrupted business activities through the upgrading of facilities and infrastructures at the airport.
According to him, most of the facilities available for use at the airport are temporary basis, especially in the area marked for arrival both at domestic and international passengers routes.
He said that the early completion of one of the strategic buildings would boost business activities adding that earlier commissioning of the completed facilities would attract passengers to patronise the airport.
On her part, a staff of  FAAN, who pleaded anonymity said that the economic situation in the country has reduced the level of traffic at the airport, adding that some passengers who usually wish to travel almost every day have reduced their movement because of the high cost.
Apart from the economic situation, she said that the non-completion of the projects at the Port Harcourt airport had discouraged some passengers to take alternative routes on their journey.
According to her, some passengers usually go through the Airforce Base where other companies operates, like the Bristol Helicopters, probably due to non completion of project at the Port Harcourt airport, but expressed hope that things will return to normal as one of the key projects at the airport has been completed.
Nevertheless, Mr. Kelvin Chuku, an operator of airport taxi in his opinion lamented that they are being faced with scarcity of patronage because the passengers traffic had drastically reduced.
“I do not believe that the economic situation is the major cause of this, but it is majorly for lack of some facilities here”, he said.
Chuku called on the Federal Government to do something fast to complete the project so as to encourage passengers to patronise the airport, to make it function like that of Lagos and Abuja.
The Tide observed that the inavailability of facilities at the airport had complled the management of FAAN to provide a temporary arrival point for both domestic and foreign passengers as construction work is yet to complete.