The Federal Airports Author
ity of Nigeria (FAAN) last Thursday assured airport users of adequate security at the nation’s airports.
The assurance is contained in a statement signed by Mr Yakubu Dati, the General Manager, Public Affairs of FAAN.
Dati said that necessary operational and security measured had been put in place at all the airports.
“The management of FAAN wants to assure members of the public, especially passengers and airline operators, that necessary operational and security measures have been put in place at all our airports.
“The measures put in place is to ensure hitch-free passage of passengers and cargo during the forthcoming Easter holidays.
“Members of the Bomb Detection Unit of the Nigeria Police Force have also been deployed at the airports to complement the effort of our aviation security personnel at the security screening points,’’ he said.
Dati said that passenger facilitation at various airports in the country had been enhanced by the installation of more modern and bigger conveyor belts and metal walk-through detectors.
“The expansion and modernisation of all the airport terminals in the country under the Airport Remodeling projects of the Federal Government now provide better ambience.
“The remodeling and modernisation have also created more space for shops and restaurants at the terminals.
“This helps passengers to relax comfortably while waiting for their flights,’’ the spokesman said.
However, The Tide source reports that some of the passengers who missed their flights complaint of slow process of boarding by the airlines operators if some of the nation’s airports.
Mrs Mary Okereke, an intending passenger to Enugu, said that she missed her flight scheduled for 10: 30 a.m. due to the slow process of check-in by the airline.
“I think the airlines are overwhelmed by the number of intending passengers; I got to the airport about two hours before my flight.
“But I could not still travel to Enugu with that flight because I could not make it to the checking counter before my scheduled flight.
“I have to wait for the next flight in the afternoon or the flight going to Port Harcourt.
“My appeal to the airline operators is that they should put measures to hasten checking-in procedure at the counter or increase the number of counters at festive periods,’’ Okereke said.
Another intending passenger, Rufus Nnamdi, said that some airline operators were not sincere about the sale of tickets online.
“I live in South Africa and am home for my traditional marriage, I had done all my booking online from South Africa about three months ago.
“But on getting to the airport today en-route Enugu, the airline is telling me that there are issues with my online booking.
“They are more interested in passengers who come to buy tickets at the airport because they pay more than those of us that had booked online,’’ Nnamdi said.
An official of the airline who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity confirmed that some of the intending passengers who booked online had no problem with their scheduled flight.
“Yes it is true that we have complaints from some intending passenger who had booked online.
“My advice to them is to come to the airport on time, due to the high volume of traffic of passengers we have now.
“ Especially passengers going to the East, they just need to come to the airport early for checking and other boarding processes to avoid missing their flights,’’ the source said.