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How sustainable is FAAN’s ‘new’ airport infrastructure renewal?
The Federal Government had, in 2012/2013, embarked on ambitious airport remodelling project, which raised so much hope but little in delivery. The Lagos airport is, however, wearing new look now and becoming passenger friendly. But, how sustainable are these quick fixes? WOLE SHADARE asks
Previous challenges
In 2014, none of Nigeria’s over 24 airports met the criteria to be selected amongst the top aerodromes in Africa. As a matter of fact, Port-Harcourt International Airport was selected as the worst airport in the country. The verdict came as shock to a few people, but to many discerning minds, it was a verdict that best qualifies the infrastructural decay at virtually all the country’s airports.
Expectedly, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) as face saving effort disputed the result. FAAN was in denial of the fact that despite the reported N500 billion reportedly spent on airport remodelling project, not much was achieved, forcing people to conclude that the huge funds were not properly applied. What a shame!
Airports’ poor rating
The unfavourable rating did not spur FAAN into much action because of lack of funds to tackle the decay was no longer readily available. It sought funds desperately to genuinely re-establish itself and provide the needed facilities to ease passenger facilitation at the major airports in the country. The agency is strewn with heavy debt burden by airlines and other users of the airport facilities.
The agency is also battling to close some loopholes through, which revenues are siphoned by going into concession with the private sector. Nigerians are great travellers. When they travel, they see airport facilities that epitomised the best architectural designs; they see hitech airports with bewildering IT facilities and automation. So they get disappointed when they return to Nigeria and do not see such sophistication at the nation’s airports.
So they ventilate their disappointment with invectives directed at FAAN. The agency is beginning to live up to expectation, but not a few believed that FAAN, most times, need to be prompted to take actions to fix the smallest of things in the airport rather than be proactive to do what it is statutorily expected to do.
Osinbajo triggers facility repairs
The major rehabilitation of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, to bring it at par with many airports around the world, was facilitated by the visit of then Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, last February when he paid an unscheduled visit to the airport on February 22, 2017. Osinbajo visited the baggage reclaim areas and to see the carousels that had gone bad a few years after they were installed; the travellators, which had broken down, the toilets, which were oozing out foul smells and other broken down facilities at the nation’s premier airport.
FAAN swings into action
After the vice-president’s visit, the Managing Director of FAAN, Saleh Dunoma, gave marching orders to engineers to commence repair works on all facilities at the international terminal of the airport.
Dunoma, who gave assurance to travellers of improved facilities at the airport, gave the directive to the engineers and the airport manager after inspecting the terminal. During the inspection, which lasted for hours, the FAAN boss and his management staff examined the escalators, conveyor belts, departure and arrival sections of the terminal and other areas of the airport. After the tour, Dunoma said: “There are a few things we need to fix immediately. I say immediately; that means immediately.
This is a presidential directive. We will not waste time and that is why you see us working on a Saturday. We will still work tomorrow. We just have to come up with strategic implementation plans so that we don’t disrupt operations. This is key to us.”
Dunoma matches words with action
The FAAN boss has lived up to his words. A tour of the terminal last weekend leaves one in utter shock of transformation. Work is still ongoing on the chillers that had broken down for years. The cooling systems at both the departure and arrival halls are functioning. The toilets are neater as they have been refurbished. Aside that, the hitherto chaotic baggage reclaimed areas are now serene. This was made possible by the fixing of broken down caroussels.
The signages are conspicuous, directing users of the terminal to know their directions to every area of the facility. Many people had problems navigating Lagos airport signage.
Whether they are checking in, going through security, or trying to find a gate, restaurant, restroom or baggage claim, it was easy for them to miss their way. Signs inside and outside of airports can be confusing, misleading or lacking and the emotional state people are in (worried about missing a flight, excited about picking up a friend or loved one, nervous about flying) can exacerbate common problems. Signage in an airport environment serves many different purposes, such as flight information, wayfinding, concession location, identifying amenities, airport marketing and paid advertising, among many others.
Experts’ views
Speaking on the signages and other facilities, Acting General Manager, Public Affairs, FAAN, Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu, said intuitive wayfinding gives the passenger more control over their journey and this in turn results in direct benefits, not just for the passenger themselves, but also for the airport. She said: “For the traveller, simply knowing where they need to be and how to get there gives them more personal control over their journey. For the airport, having a passenger who is in control of their journey can only be positive. It also increases satisfaction levels and helps reap secondary commercial benefits.” Besides, she said this also increase passenger satisfaction.
“For the airport, effective signage and wayfinding can also lend itself to commercial benefits. When you are in control of the information you need, it gives you additional time in the airport and you’re then much more likely to spend time in the retail area’’ she added. Deputy General Manager (Operations), FAAN, Victoria Shina-aba, disclosed that the agency decided to do the quick fixes, those that do not require heavy funding, adding that the major ones would be fixed after the conclusion of the smaller ones.
Her words: “What we are doing are the quick fixes that we think we can do, but then, the big ones like the travellators, escalators,’’ the departure conveyor belts are things that we may not be able to do. It would require huge government funding. We are going to have some intervention in carrying out those major repairs, changing them totally. When the acting president came, the question he asked was why were they not working?
We told him what it is going to take to repair them is more than having a new ones. Shina-aba disclosed most of the facilities like travellators came with the terminal building in 1979, which makes it difficult to get spares for them because they are outdated.
“The quick fixes are what you are seeing and what we are doing. There is plan to fix the conveyor belts for departure because the ones at arrival hall are very new. We have more capacity than we need. We still have challenges with departure area; they are old too. In changing them, we will have those ones that are going to be automated. We will have screening machines that would be able to screen items including baggage.
Conclusion
If government is really ready to rapidly develop the aviation industry within the shortest possible, world class airport infrastructure must be provided to generate traffic and help to increase revenue of government.
