Potholes and armed bandits have forced international airlines – including British Airways, Lufthansa and Air France – to cancel hundreds of flights to Nigeria.
The capital’s airport, Nnamdi Azikiwe International, will shut for six weeks on March 8, while its ruptured runway is resurfaced, forcing airlines to divert to Kaduna, some 100 miles north.
However, many airlines have refused to fly passengers to Kaduna – known locally as Croc City – due to the ongoing threat of banditry, kidnapping and terrorism. The Foreign Office (FCO) advises against all but essential travel to the region, where two German nationals were kidnapped this week.
“We will not be flying to or from Abuja while the airport’s runway is being repaired,” a spokesperson for British Airways told Telegraph Travel. “All customers affected can move their bookings earlier or later in the year when the airport is open, rebook to our Lagos or Accra services or claim a full refund.
“We would advise customers to keep checking our website for the latest information if they are due to fly to or from Abuja in the coming months.”
Government officials insist the notoriously dangerous road between Kaduna and Abuja will be lined with police checkpoints. Airport passengers, they say, will be shuttled to the Nigerian capital in buses accompanied by armed guards.
However, that’s not enough to sway some international airlines, who will not resume flights to the region until the runway at Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport is repaired.
The closure of Abuja’s airport is a further blow for Nigeria, which is suffering from a severe economic downturn and a terrorist insurgency, the twin perils of which are reportedly pushing many families in the north of the country towards starvation.
Questions are also being raised over the health of Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, who came to London for medical treatment a month ago, yet remains in the English capital.-The Telegraph UK
