The managing director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mrs Olubunmi Kuku said the agency had taken steps to tackle the menace of bird strikes at airports across the country.
Kuku disclosed this at a stakeholders’ meeting held in Lagos where the chairman of Air Peace, Mr Allen Onyema said his airline had been the worst victim of bird strikes, having recorded 15 wild life-related disruptions for two consecutive days.
Giving a report on her achievements in the past one year, Kuku said since December 2024, FAAN had been in talks with the airport host communities about treatment of sewage as well as the focus on grass management efforts.
“We’re also starting a waste separation and recycling programme that is also helping us to make sure that we’re able to further manage our environment,” she said.
On security at the airports, the managing director said FAAN had deployed a number of explosive detection equipment screening devices at some of the international airports while “a significant amount is underway.”
“We strengthened the workforce of our aviation security personnel. We were actually able, for the first time last year, to train and recertify over 3,000 aviation security personnel that are actually being deployed.
“Also from a capacity building perspective, we were able to train over 3,238 staff from a safety perspective. This also includes operators and handlers who are working on the airside. We completed the recertification of both MMIA with the support of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA),” she said.
The managing director also said had completed the rehabilitation of hajj terminals in Kaduna, Ilorin, Maiduguri, Yola, Abuja, Katsina, and Kano, while hoping to do same in Sokoto, Gombe and Lagos
She attributed the hitch-free hajj operation in 2024 to the rehabilitation of the hajj terminals.
On power outages at airports, Kuku said FAAN embarked on electrification projects.
I am sure earlier last year, you all witnessed power outages at some of our airports, Lagos specifically. Some of those outages are not necessarily because there is no power supply…but because there are actually issues with the supply infrastructure.
“In Lagos, we have upgraded some of the power panels at the airport. In Enugu, we also provided dedicated power lines being injected from 33 to 11 KVA. In Kano, we also did the same with 33 to 11 KVA circuit breakers also in Kano Airport. In Abuja Airport, we started projects around the terminal facilities,” she said.
