FAAN shuts Maiduguri airport for repairs

BARELY two weeks after the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) shut the Kaduna airport, the authority yesterday said it will from tomorrow close the Maiduguri airport for emergency repair of the failed portion of its runway.

The FAANs Managing Director, Mr. Richard Aisuebeogun, who disclosed this in Lagos yesterday, said the repair, which had the approval of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), would be completed within a week.

The FAAN chief, who said that the runway will be wholly resurfaced in 2009, explained that the latest repair, after completion, would make the runway safe for flying wide-bodied aircraft, including those slated for the Hajj operations this year.

The authority had last Monday begun the repair of the failed portion of the runway of the Kaduna Airport. It is expected to be reopened for flight operations on October 23, 2008.

Aisuebeogun appealed to the travelling public, including the people and government of Bornu State, to bear with the aviation authorities during the period.