Abuja Airport Closure: FG Names Eight Emergency Centres

The Federal Government has named eight primary response centres and 10 governmental and non-governmental organisations to provide emergency medical services in case of accidents.

The eight health facilities which are situated in Kaduna and Niger states include Umar Yar’Adua Specialist Hospital; Anglican Mission Hospital, Katari; General Hospital, Doka; and the Federal Road Safety Corps Clinic, Kakau.

Others are the Primary Healthcare Centre, Duste; Rigasa Health Centre; St. Gerard’s Hospital, Kakuri; and the National Eye Centre, Kaduna.

Ten partners have been listed to coordinate and manage emergency situations. They are the FRSC, Nigeria Police Force, NEMA, Federal Fire Service and the National Blood Transfusion Service.

Others are the Association of Medical Social Workers of Nigeria; Kaduna State Ministry of Health; Niger State Ministry of Health; Federal Capital Territory Health and Human Services Secretariat; and the Ministry of Defence.

The decision was taken in preparation for the closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja and the transfer of its services to the Kaduna Airport, with effect from March 8, 2017.

The Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, made the announcement during a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday to inform the public on plans for the NAIA temporary closure.

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Plane goes up in flames on tarmac at JFK airport

A very surprising incident occurred last night at the JFK airport tarmac. An Argentina Airlines flight bound for Buenos Aires caught fire as it prepared to take off. The pilot reported the fire incident, but when rescue trucks arrived, they found no evidence of fire.

Pictures taken of the plane shows the jet with flames spewing from the fuselage. The fire was caught on camera by a passenger on board a different plane on the runway and she tweeted about it.

"Yeah so I’m on the runway about to take off and another plane just landed next to us and it was on f**king fire like literal fire." She wrote.

Her tweet and the words of the pilot seem to be the only evidence that there was indeed a fire, otherwise, the plane shows no sign and seems to be in perfect condition. The plane did not take off anymore and had to taxi back for further investigation.

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Not Again! Arik Leaves Passengers Stranded In Kaduna Airport For 4 Days

Several passengers, including children, were stranded at Kaduna International Airport since on Tuesday, following the failure of Arik Airlines to airlift them as scheduled. 

Some of the disappointed passengers made the complaint to the Minister of State for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, at the airport during the on-the-spot assessment of the facilities on ground at the airport. 
They lamented that they had been parading the airport since on Tuesday just to board Arik air from Kaduna to Lagos to no avail without any explanation or apology from the airline officials. They described the attitude of the operators of the airline as nonchalant because there was no any notification by any means. They added that it was until after the passengers approached the minister to complain that one of the official told them to come back on Saturday. 
The airline was said to have been canceling its flight without considering the distance they travelled from or the implication of such on their businesses. One of the passengers who gave her name as Mrs Nkenna with her three kids told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that she and her family were supposed to have traveled to Lagos on Tuesday. She said the airline had been cancelling flight without prior notification, adding that it had been the same experience in the last four days. 

“I and my family including our children are being stranded at Kaduna Airport by Arik Airline. 
“I don’t know what to do because the airline did not give us any prior notice to the cancellation of the flight; no SMS, no email. 
“We have been coming to the airport everyday since on Tuesday hoping to board only for an official of the airline to tell us on Friday that we will board on Saturday. 

Another affected passenger, Mrs Janet Oyedele, expressed her frustration with the airline, saying she was not aware of the cancelation of the flight until she got to the airport. “One of the staff working at the airline’s counter assured us that the flight was rescheduled for Saturday but was not sure of the possibility of the flight. 

“Arik Air seems to be a disgrace to this country and unfortunately for them, they are not the only carrier flying, why are other airlines not affected? “The reason is Arik air has been messing up with passengers and getting away with it over time,” she said. 

Reacting to the four-day cancellation of flight, Arik Air Communications Manager, Mr Ola Adebanji, attributed the cancellation to fuel scarcity and bad weather. According to Adebanji, there is fuel scarcity earlier in the week coupled with bad weather. So, it is not deliberate but if the weather is okay to fly today, they will go. 

On whether there would be any form of compensation for the passengers, he said he was not aware of that.

Vanguard

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The Airport Palaver! Checkout the 5 Struggles Nigerians Who Use Lagos Airport Will Totally Understand

If you have ever used the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos State, then these are certain struggles you will understand.

Nigerians at Lagos airport

 

The Lagos airport whether local or international is one of the busiest in Nigeria and arguably in Africa.

 

The airport which is supposed to highlight Nigeria’s history, culture and tourism to both local and international travellers is a shadow of itself. How? When you arrive Nigeria, there should be available information about our history, way of life, choice destinations to visit and best hotels to stay. Unfortunately nothing!

 

The airport is a microcosm of the larger Nigerian society where government services are barely up to scratch. Even with the concession of the airport, it hasn’t changed its fortunes.

 

So, if you ply the Lagos airport often,  Jumia Travel gathers some of the struggles you can readily relate with. This is to encourage the government to fix the Lagos airport to meet international standards because it is Nigeria’s window to the world.

 

1. Epileptic power supply 

 

You can only imagine the disgust when you arrive in your country and everywhere is dark. It is a rude welcome to Nigeria. The reason for this? The power grid of the airport has shut down. Some people will not be surprised by this because beyond the airport, electricity is unstable. The intermittent power outage at the Lagos airport is the height of embarrassment to use torchlight to taxi your way through the airport. There should be nothing like power interruption at any airport in Nigeria let alone Lagos airport.

 

2. Fanning yourself 

 

Due to poor ventilation and absence of enough air conditioners, you have to provide air by fanning yourself.

 

3. Officials asking for tips 

 

The different officials tasked with the responsibility of ensuring the airport function without any hitches are the ones who use underhand ways to collect tips from travellers. While some greet you excessively, others ask you pointedly to offer them something.

 

4. Spending hours to be cleared 

 

With recurring power outages, you have to spend hours being cleared by the different regulatory agencies at the airport. And there are many of them. Their services are very slow when there is power. You can only imagine how their services will look like when there is no power. It is worse when you still have to fan yourself through this harrowing ordeal.

 

5. Ambush by Taxi drivers 

 

For travellers who have no one to pick them up at the airport, they are at the mercy of taxi drivers or individuals scavenging for persons who may need their services. As you are leaving the arrival lounge, their voices will be the next you hear. The disorderly manner they ambush travellers who have just arrived is the problem. 

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Man Spotted N*ked at Airport Trying to Fly to South Africa After Smoking Malawian Weed (Photos)

A South African man who smoked Malawian Indian Hemp at Cape Maclear has been pictured at the airport trying to fly back to South Africa unclad.

The South African man being confronted by airport officials as he was spotted butt n*ked

 

A South African man who reportedly smoked Malawian weed and got high on the drug, was spotted unclad at Kamuzu International Airport in Malawi, trying to fly back to his country wearing only his underwear (pant).

 

The man was pictured as he was confronted by airport officials in an incident which have already gone viral online.

 

 

Malawi News who exclusively shared the pictures on social media, captioned it: “A South African man who smoked Malawian Hemp at Cape Maclear wants to Fly back to South Africa naked. This is Kamuzu International Airport.”

 

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Couple Who Missed Flight Take Drastic Action To Prevent Plane From Taking Off (Photos)

This is the moment a couple who missed their flight squatted on the runway with their luggage in a bid to prevent their plane from taking off.

The husband and wife were booked on a Air China flight from Beijing, China, to the eastern port city of Shanghai at 9.30am on Saturday.

But they arrived at the boarding gate after it had already closed, leaving them stranded at Beijing Capital International Airport.

Desperate to make their flight, the wife allegedly dragged her husband through the gate, 'knocking down' several employees in the process.

The pair, who have not been named, then ran onto the tarmac with their bags and headed towards the plane before it began taxing.

It is reported that the jet bridge had also already been removed when the couple dashed onto the runway to stop the aircraft from leaving.

In shocking scenes, the woman was pictured squatting down underneath the plane as she tried to convince officials to let her and her partner board it.

The man, meanwhile, was seen standing and 'sitting' beneath the aircraft with his luggage.

The pair - who allegedly ignored warnings from ground crew members - were finally arrested after a delay of about 20 minutes.

The couple will receive administrative detention of between five and 10 days and will also be fined 500 RMB (£57), it is reported.

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Power Failure Turns Lagos Int'l Airport Into Darkness for the Second Time in a Week (Photo)

We reported on Tuesday that some international passengers, including passengers from Emirates and Turkish airlines, were left in darkness on Monday and were unable to pass through immigration because of lack of power at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport in Lagos.

A yet another reported power outage at the International Airport in Ikeja on Tuesday night, has further dampened the hopes of redeeming the aviation sector with a power failure for the second time in a week.

In an official statement released on Wednesday, the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) has called on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to declare an emergency in the aviation sector.

The statement read;

“We recall that the incident on Monday, September 12, 2016 was the second of such occurrences in the past one week and urge the Federal Government of Nigeria to immediately put an end to this recurring national embarrassment.

“Apart from the issue of incessant power failure experienced in airports across the country, there is the parlous state of our tarmacs as well as the inefficient personnel manning some of the posts at the airports.

“Just a few weeks back, one of the aircrafts operated by South African Airways got damaged on the tarmac at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja. The aircraft was grounded for a few days before the airline got it fixed.

“NANTA worries at the disrepute that these inefficiencies bring on our nation,” TheCable News quoted NANTA as saying.

The association noted that “these difficulties, which airlines do not suffer in smaller but more organised systems account for the decision by foreign airlines to recently, adopt Ghana as the hub for their activities.

“As an organisation whose over 6000 membership are active players in the industry, we call on the Federal Ministry of Transportation and indeed the Federal Government to take steps to remedy the situation at our airports and bring back the days of glory

“To start with, we ask why the Federal Airports Authority of Nigerian (FAAN) is unable to ensure uninterrupted power supply at our airports in spite of the collection of $50 passenger service charge they receive on every passenger. Questions must be asked about what is done with these monies.

“As the umbrella association of people who issue tickets, NANTA is aware that only the NUC and the YQ or YR goes to the airline, all taxes collected on behalf of the government and the airport authority are centralised and now collected from source by IATA through BSP on behalf of the government.  We are therefore confident that these monies are being remitted to FAAN.

“NANTA hereby reiterates the call on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in the Aviation sector to avoid a total collapse that will worsen the nation’s economic crisis.”

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