Nigeria
has reacted to a recent report that named Port Harcourt International Airport
as the worst in the world.
The damning verdict came from a travel website, sleepinginairports.net,
based on feedback from thousands of travellers on criteria such as terminal
services and facilities, cleanliness and comfort.
It
also listed the airports in Abuja, and financial hub, Lagos, as seventh and
10th worst on the continent.
FAAN
spokesman Yakubu Dati told AFP that the report was “unfounded” as the domestic
terminal at Port Harcourt was undergoing renovation and a new international
terminal was being built.
Lagos’
Murtala Muhammed International Airport has also undergone similar renovation,
while Chinese engineers are building a new terminal at the Nnamdi Azikiwe
airport in Abuja.
“While
we regret any inconvenience experienced at these airports, including Port
Harcourt International Airport, due to ongoing construction projects, we
promise all airport users that services at these airports will surely get
better at the completion of these projects,” he told AFP.
Nigeria’s
aviation industry has evolved since the liquidation of the state-run Nigeria
Airways in the early 2000s because of mismanagement and corruption.
With
more than 20 functional planes in 1979, the national carrier was left with just
two in 1999, prompting the government to throw open the skies to the private
sector.
Carriers
such as Arik Air, Dana Air, Aero Contractors, Med-View, Kabo and Overland
Airways have since emerged as key players.
Arik,
which has a partnership for maintenance with Lufthansa, is dominant with a
strong presence on domestic and regional routes, as well as longer-haul flights
to London, and Johannesburg.
Med-View
recently got the nod to fly Lagos-London from November 20.
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