…Airlines Board, Disembark Passengers At The Ramp

Flight operations at the international terminal of the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos for two days; Saturday and Sunday disrupted following a power outage at the Nigeria’s busiest airport.

Abelnews gathered that the power outage which as at the time of compiling this report has not been restored affected the operations of airlines flying in and operating out of the airport.

The General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr Yakubu Dati, who confirmed the development, said, “There was a power outage from PHCN and the airport was on our independent power supply.

“However when power was restored, the surge adversely affected the k16 transformer that serves the Air-bridges and rendered them unserviceable. This adversely affected operations of departing flights. The heavy rainfall further delayed attempts by engineers to effect repairs immediately.” He said

The online platform further learnt that as result of the serious power outage airlines operating into the country can no longer make use of the fingers that were assigned to them instead airline  now use ramp.

As at yesterday; Saturday, August 27, 2016, the disruption necessitated by the power failure affected KLM/Air France, British Airways, Lufthansa and South Africa Airways flights.

These airline Abelnews learnt used the ramp to board and disembark their passengers instead of using the fingers.

A source close one of the airline told Abelnews.com that today the disruption continued , as electricity has not been restored as Arik Air London flight ,Virgin Atlantic Airways, Air Maroc  flights were affected and that these airlines also used the ramp.

However, FAAN  has apologised to passengers, airlines and the general public for the inconvenience caused by this development , adding that efforts are being made to find a lasting solution.