Again, Power Outage Cripples Activities at Lagos Airport
13 Apr 2012
Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos
By Chinedu Eze
For the fourth time in two months, Nigeria’s busiest airport, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos Thursday went through another bout of power outage that lasted for several hours.
Electricity supply to the airport was cut off at about 4:30 pm and by 7:25 pm it was yet to be restored, a situation that stifled the checking in of passengers, the security checks at the central search for departing passengers and the grim standstill of the conveyor belt as passengers were no more able to collect their luggage at the peak of the day’s activities.
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and other officials at the airport resorted to the use of emergency lights, including torch-lights, cell phone lights and any other objects that could glow while the passengers, who were being profiled had to wait for the restoration of power.
This gave rise to crowding at the central search area where all passengers pass through for security profiling; crowding at the check-in area, and stampede at every part of the departure hall.
Security experts said that power outage at the peak hours when heavy traffic of arrivals and departures are recorded was a dangerous time because it exposed the airport to serious security breach and threatens airport and aircraft safety.
It is difficult for the security operatives to effectively man their posts; with the crowding, unscrupulous elements can meander through to highly prohibited parts of the airport and cause harm or access the airside.
But a senior aviation security source told THISDAY that during the period of the outage, the security officials conducted manual search on the intending passengers, “but it takes time because of the volume of passengers. What happened impacted more on facilities. We had to redouble our efforts; after all, we know that such a thing is not unusual. It can happen tomorrow until efforts are made to provide permanent solution”.
Passengers, especially regular travellers are always shocked when they experience power outage at the airport, as many of them become confused and struggle to hold on to their bags.
It was not different Thursday; many of the passengers while cursing concerned authorities for the outage, struggled with their luggage, an effort that was more challenging for those with children who were confused about what to do.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) with the Ministry of Aviation has been carrying out renovation and upgrade of the airports and sometimes in the process of moving earth or other objects electricity lines may be cut off.
The agency has embarked on a major power project, which when completed will significantly ensure uninterrupted power supply to the airport.
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