Airfield Lighting on Runway 18L/36R at the Domestic Terminal of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, will reduce operating costs for local carriers, Chairman of Air Peace, Mr. Allen Onyema has declared.
Besides reducing operating cost for indigenous carriers, Onyema said the facility would improve turnaround time for local carriers, enhance possibility of improving flight frequencies and create avenue for operational efficiency.
He said the facility would change the narrative for passengers and airlines who hitherto lamented the time and resources wasted for aircraft taxiing from the international terminal runway before getting to the local wing after landing.
In an interview at the weekend, Onyema congratulated the Federal Government and the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika for the feat.
He hailed the Presiden, Muhammadu Buhari, for his administration’s favourable policies in the aviation industry.
“I must applaud the Federal Government for successfully installing lighting facilities on Runway 18L/36R. President Buhari has been supportive to the aviation sector and projects like this one are a testament to the fact. One is not oblivious of the strides that have been achieved in Nigeria’s aviation sector courtesy of President Buhari.
“The installation of Airfield Lighting on this particular runway will go a long way in alleviating the sufferings of airlines and reducing the cost of operations as well as enhance the possibility of increasing flight frequencies. It will also help reduce turnaround time, which makes for more operational efficiency, and both the operators and passengers will benefit from it”, the Air Peace boss asserted.
Recall that the 2.7 kilometres long Runway 18L/36R was shut down by FAAN on July 7, 2022 for 90 days to install approach, runway, threshold centre, edge lights and others air navigaton support facilities to facilitate the return to 24 hours flight operations thereby easing the burden of airlines.
With the airfield lighting installed, the unnecessary 10-20 minutes spent and fuel burnt when an aircraft lands on the international runway before taxiing to the domestic, will become a thing of the past thereby enhancing maximum aircraft utilissation.
