THE recent plan by the Lagos State Government to build an additional airport in the state to complement the existing Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, has continued to elicit reactions across the aviation sector.
While some key players commended the decision on the premise that Lagos as a cosmopolitan city deserves at least an additional airport to optimally serve the millions of air travellers residing in the state, others are of the opinion that an existing agreement the federal government previously signed with the operators of the MMA2 private terminal may render the Lagos government’s plan illegal.
Some of the stakeholders have also argued that the existence of the Lagos State government airport may have negative implications on the revenue generations of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
Commenting on the development, the general secretary of Aviation Round Table, Mr Olumide Ohunayo while acknowledging that the state needed more airports, however, doubted if the proposed airport would operate international flights.
He equally argued that FAAN required complementary airports to improve traffic into Lagos that would be beneficial to all airports and travellers, provided the airports have some level of efficiency.
While explaining that the Lekki- Epe Airport would peak at the low-cost carriers and passengers to the Island, he declared that international and scheduled flights would still retain the MMA.
In his observation that the coming onboard of Gateway Airport at Remo-Ikenne axis in Ogun State may affect the projection for the new airport in Lagos due to proximity, Ohunayo declared: “Another fear I am having about Lekki-Epe Airport is that another airport is coming up in Shagamu in the next one year. There are airports that are springing up within and around Lagos. So, FAAN needs to improve its quality services and again, the space for aircraft parking.
“Quality services and cost are the things that will determine what happens to any airport and for any airport to be used by airlines. Luckily, the government has tied an airline to that airport, which would be owned by the State Government. I look forward to it and I don’t see any threat to FAAN, but FAAN should up its game and ensure that it get more revenues for their services from the airports under their domain.”
For the managing partner, TMSS, Consulting, Mr. Nuhu Adam, the announcement by the Lagos State Government was a good development and a game changer for the state.
The plan by the Lagos State Government to site the airport in a free-trade zone area would attract both local and foreign investors as it comes with lots of incentives for the who-be investors.
Adam, however, drew the attention of the State Government to an existing agreement between a private terminal operator and the Federal Government which he said may be an impediment if the legal hurdle was not properly cleared.
“The announcement by the Lagos State Government is a good development and a game changer. The airport is being promoted within the concept of a free-trade zone. It is definitely going to be a game changer, giving the strategic location of Lagos as an aviation hub in West Africa.
“However, the promoter should be mindful of the existing agreement between the current operator of a terminal and the Federal Government. I see this as an encumbrance if the legal hurdle is not properly ironed out.
“It won’t be in the interest of the would-be investors given the experience of Virgin Nigeria versus Federal Government on the issue of operation of domestic flights from international terminals,” Adam noted.
While arguing that the coming onboard of the Lagos state airport would not affect the revenue generations of FAAN, Adams explained that airport revenues are sourced from two major areas; aeronautical and non-aeronautical, maintaining that if the management of FAAN scaled up its business operations strategies, the proposed new airport would not have any impact on its operations.
“The focus should be better service delivery in a competitive environment for an earned revenue. In the case of Lagos, a reliever airport is overdue. With the emerging commercial and industrial activities in the Lekki axis, the airport will be a vital outlet not only for commercial and cargo flights, but for flight training, military, search and rescue operations, and corporate and recreational flying.”
The federal government had, at the commissioning of the rebuilt private terminal at the Murtala Muhammed airport, popularly known as MMA2 in 2007, entered into an agreement with Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited, the managers of the private terminal that no other airport will be built within the state.
and then