Agents still in the dark on abuja airport closure

AIRLINES have failed to
provide agents with a
contingency plan for
flights to Abuja’s Nnamdi
Azikiwe International Airport
during the planned closure
for maintenance, from
March 8-April 18.
Jeanette Jordaan,
corporate travel team leader
of Reynolds Travel Centre,
says she read about the
closure on Travelinfo and
says the airlines have
not given agents definite
answers about what is
going on.
“This Abuja story is a
disaster for me,” says Tracy
Teichmann, manager of Sure
Adcocks Travel.
Agents can still book
flights to Abuja during the
maintenance period but say
they are avoiding doing so
as they are afraid of putting
their clients at risk.
Tracy says her clients have
built their travel around
SAA’s Abuja flight schedule.
Usually, her clients land in
Abuja in the early morning
and arrive at their final
destination by 10h00, which
allows them to complete a
half day’s work on the day
they arrive.
Whereas, she says, a flight
to Lagos arrives late at night
and clients would then have
to stay overnight, making
the trip more costly, creating
work delays and preventing
them from getting home
sooner.
Adebanji Ola, pr and
communications manager
in Nigeria of Arik Air, says
the airline will only release
its contingency plans in the
next few days. “We are still
working out the details.”
SAA’s spokesperson, Tlali
Tlali told TNW that it had
not received any official
communication from the
relevant authority. “Once a
Notam (Notice to Airmen)
has been issued with
sufficient details on the
airport closure, SAA will
make known its plans.”
According to Matthew
Lawrence Pwajok, gm
safety management systems
of the Nigerian Airspace
Management Agency, two
Notams have been issued.
The first notified airlines of
the closure and the second
informed the airlines that
Kaduna Airport would accept
affected airlines.