UK fears for passengers’ safety as Nigeria plans Abuja airport closure

The British government has expressed concern over Nigeria’s plan to close Abuja’s Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport for six weeks in 2017.

The UK Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Harriet Thompson, met with Nigeria’s Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, on Thursday, three days after the government announced the planned closure.

The government had announced on Monday that all Abuja-bound domestic and international flights would be diverted to Kaduna for six weeks in 2017 to enable the government upgrade the airport’s runway.

Passengers would then be transported by government-provided buses to Abuja, some 210 kilometres away.

Some Nigerians have expressed concerns about passengers’ safety, amid reports of banditry and kidnapping along Kaduna-Abuja Road.

Mr. Thompson raised the same fears on Thursday, the News Agency of Nigeria reported.

Mr. Sirika said the government would provide necessary security to travelers.

He told the UK diplomat that the closure was to let the badly damaged airport runway be reconstructed.