THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
Runway repairs at Nigeria’s Abuja Airport are now expected to last a further 18 weeks after it reopens on 19 April, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has announced.
The Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Nigeria’s capital has been closed since 8 March for extensive repairs to its runway.
Flights are currently using Kaduna Airport while Abuja is closed, but many international carriers including Lufthansa have refused to use the smaller airport, located about 160 km to the north of the capital city.
The extended runway repairs will be carried out overnight after Abuja reopens to minimise disruption to passengers, FAAN said.
The decision to shut the Abuja airport was taken after airlines threatened to stop flying to the capital as a result of the bad conditions of some of its facilities.
However, only Ethiopian Airlines has agreed to use the Kaduna Airport.
Aviation experts and international airlines have criticised the alternative airport because of the pot-holed Kaduna-Abuja road where kidnappings have taken place in the last few years. Also, killer Fulani herdsmen also operate in the area and they have been blamed for several massacres of villagers in the southern part of Kaduna State.
Kola Tella
Information on the Abuja Airport during the closure at: www.abujaairportclosure.info
