Drivers of taxi cabs and operators of car hire services at the Margaret Ekpo International Airport, Calabar, have cried out over the temporary closure of the airport.

In separate interviews with newsmen in Calabar, they said that the closure had caused them untold hardships.

“It is really very tough for us now because we just come here to hang around doing nothing and at the end of the day, we go home empty.

“But there is nothing we can do,’’ one of the operators, Mr Peter Udofia, said.

He, however, acknowledged that they were duly informed by the airport management before the commencement of the maintenance work of the runway.

“The management informed us earlier before the work began. They told us it will last for about two months,’’ he said.

Udofia expressed optimism that there would be more business activities at the airport after the work.

The operator disclosed that prior to the commencement of the maintenance work, many airline operators had relocated to the Uyo Airport.

“After the maintenance work on the runway, we expect those airlines that do operate here to relocate back,’’ he said.

Another operator, Mr Okechukwu Uwakwe, also told The Tide’s source  that the situation had been very difficult since the closure.

“Imagine a bread winner going out and coming home everyday with nothing,’’ he lamented.

He confessed to carrying out some brisk businesses in the night; “just to meet up with family obligations’’.

Some town-service taxi drivers on the airport road, however, stated that the closure of the airport had not in any way affected their operations.

“No, it is not affecting me at all. Everything is going on normal,’’ Mr Eno Bassey, who plies the IBB Airport road, said.

The Tide’s source recalls that the Margaret Ekpo International Airport was temporarily closed last week following the Federal Government’s maintenance work in some international airports in the country.