September 13, (THEWILL) – Air travellers plying the Murtala Mohammed Airport (MMA) road, especially those coming to catch their flights from Apapa, Isolo, Mafoluku and Ajao Estate areas of Lagos State are having difficulty reaching the local terminals of Murtala Muhammed Airport 2 (MMA2) and the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) of the airport in good time.
Due to heavy traffic that now characterises Airport Road, air travellers are made to spend three to four hours between Beesam Bus Stop and MMA2, a journey that would have taken just about 10 minutes. They have blamed the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) for the pain and difficulty they experience on the road, alleging that the authority is insensitive to the traffic situation
A recent investigation by THEWILL (on September 3, 202), showed that at one time a gridlock on Airport Road lasted four hours, between noon and some minutes past 4pm, a situation that left many travellers missing their flights and others wasting their man-hours.
The same scenario played out on Monday September 6, 2021. A traffic snarl lasted for three hours without an intervention from any quarter. According to motorists that ply the route, the traffic situation has become a daily occurrence and road users are gradually getting used to the resulting hardship. Those rushing to catch their flights were seen jumping out of their vehicles to climb onto commercial motorcycles, popularly known as ‘okada’, in order to to complete their journey to the local airport terminal.
It was a field day for commercial motorcyclists or Okada riders as the intending travellers were left at their mercy. They charged between N2,000 and N3,000 to ferry desperate travellers with their luggage to the airport terminal, which is just three poles from the traffic jam.
Speaking to THEWILL, an air traveller en route Abuja on an afternoon flight, Mrs Mary Ige, said she was embarrassed that she could be held for over an hour on the road, advising FAAN to do something very urgent to arrest the situation.
Mrs Ige pointed out that in addition to the delays, it was a security risk for intending travellers to be held at a spot for many hours on a road used all manner of vehicles and people.
Another air passenger, Chucks Bardi, blamed FAAN for the traffic gridlock, stressing that the authority should take a drastic action to ensure that there is free flow of traffic on the airport road.
Commenting on the traffic situation, General Manager, Corporate Affairs of FAAN, Henrietta Yakubu told THEWILL that the Authority is doing something to arrest the menace.
Confirming that the traffic logjam usually starts from Ikeja under bridge, Yakubu added “we are working with the Lagos State government to address the gridlock. It is from Ikeja under bridge”. .
Meanwhile, eyewitness accounts have attributed the persistent logjam to a traffic build-up, which starts from Ikeja Under-bridge and extends to the road that leads to the airport. They however, insist that FAAN has a key role to play in ensuring that there is free flow of traffic.
Commenting, a newspaper vendor, Wasiu Akinbode said, “The traffic logjam starts to build up from Ikeja Under-bridge, which is the cause. Whenever there is a blockage around this point, it affects vehicles inside the airport premises and even extends to Beesam Bus-Stop”.
Explaining further, Akinbode added “The traffic is worsened by the movement of motorists from Apapa, Isolo, Ajao Estate, Mafoluku who tend to divert to the road leading to the airport, thereby avoiding the Oshodi area. This helps to pile the traffic gridlock along the road. FAAN must find a way to decongest the road by all means because it is risky for the airport environment”.
With vehicles held for hours and air passengers delayed unnecessarily along the airport road, there are fears that such irregularities may pose security risks to the airport community.
This is worsened by commercial buses plying the Lagos Airport Access Road, which may equally pose security risks to members of the public and airport users.
THEWILL gathered that there are about 100 commercial buses operating on the road and the background of the owners, the drivers and the buses registration particulars may not be substantially known and guaranteed for assessment of airport security.
For a more serene airport environment, most stakeholders in the nation’s aviation industry have called for a better organised shuttle system within the airport premises. For instance, Centurion Aviation Safety and Security Consults (CSSC) , a company that has over the years been involved with the security of the Nigerian airports, had proposed to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to consider giving it the concession for running a global standard shuttle transport buses between the MMA four terminals of General Aviation Terminal (GAT), MM2, the International Terminals and the Cargo Terminals.
In a letter addressed to the Managing Director of FAAN, with reference number: CSSC/FAAN/300/19/003 dated August 19, 2019, the Chief Executive Officer of CSSC, Group Captain John Ojikutu, had declared his intention to give the airport the desired international image and to assist FAAN to achieve global best practices of ACI for its airports with a view to providing a purse friendly and standard 36- Seater transit bus services for passengers and airport users.
The proposal, titled, ‘Proposal For The Concession of Shuttle Buses For Passengers Between Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminals,’ according to Ojikutu, was planned to reduce traffic around the airport by 30 per cent, if the commercial buses are replaced by standard buses and by 50 per cent, if FAAN would address the closure of Beesam and airport toll gates.
Ojikutu further stressed that in the midst of the complicated and uncontrolled urban development and other surrounding road networks, including the Airport Service Road, the airport could be a reservoir for the overflow of disturbances from the urban environment.
“The heavy traffic on that road could also be an albatross to the management of the airport in the event of any serious occurrence or an emergency requiring the urgent evacuation of victims of aircraft accidents. Moreover, the security of the airport infrastructure and safety of travelling passengers cannot be sufficiently guaranteed,” he said.
According to him, solving the problems of the Airport Service Road should start with the FAAN management retaking and exercising proper ownership of the service road that is being used as a public road. “The objectives will be to restricting the public traffic transiting on the road from Abeokuta Expressway to Apapa- Oshodi Expressway and return. Retaking and claiming may also require closing the road linking the Bisam Area to the Airport Service Road and closing the toll gate, which purpose is only to generating revenue from road users and not entirely to servicing the airport users.”
Meanwhile, the Murtala Mohammed Airport Security recently came under the focus of the industry stakeholders and the public.
First was the concern expressed by the British High Commissioner that the airport lacks shuttle buses for passengers connecting flights between local and international airlines.
His concern, which was probably borne out of security concerns, may not be unconnected to the heavy traffic on the five kilometre Airport Service Road turned public which could be a source of danger or insecurity to passengers heading to the airport.
About the Author
Anthony Awunor, is a business correspondent who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Linguistics (UNILAG). He is also an alumnus of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria Kaduna State. He lives in Lagos.
