By Ijeoma Nwankpa, Abuja.
The Nigerian government says it will soon reopen the Kano airport for international flight operation.
Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, stated this when the Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, led a delegation from the state to his office.
According to the Minister, it was necessary for the airport to be reopened for activities.
Senator Sirika once again reiterated the desire of the ministry to reopen the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, for international flight operations, insisting that the continued suspension of international flights to and from the airport was denying the Ministry and its agencies a lot of revenue.
He said it did not make economic sense for government to spend so much money on the airport, and leave it inoperative with the attendant’s degeneration on infrastructure, redundancy amongst operational staff, revenue losses, hardship to travellers, and other inconviencies.
He, however, told the delegation that included some members of the Kano State House of Assembly, representatives of the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero and members of the Kano Chamber of Commerce, that the decision to suspend international flights to and from the airport, like the ones in Enugu and Port Harcourt, were for health and security reasons.
The Minister acknowledged the hardship to the users of the airport, passengers and service providers alike, and promised that all that was necessary for the resumption of international flight operations at the airport would be fast-tracked to ensure that it resumes sooner than later.
The Minister also challenged Kano indigenes to create activities that would make the airport more viable through increased passenger’s traffic.
On his part, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje told the Minister that he was in the Ministry for two reasons, first to show appreciation to President Muhammadu Buhari for the completion of the International wing of the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, and to appeal for the resumption of international flight operations at the airport.
The governor expressed great concern over the effect of the continued suspension of international flights to and from the airport by passengers and service providers.
According to him, the Kano State government has put in place all that was necessary to make the state healthy for flights, including mobilization of the populace for the COVID-19 vaccinations.
In a similar development, Ganduje also appealed to the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Richard Adebayo, to rehabilitate the trade fair complex in Kano with all necessary facilities.
It would be recalled that the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, was at the Kano International airport in July 2020 to inspect the completed part of the International Wing of the Aminu Kano Airport and since then the airport has not been opened for international activites.
