FAAN Readies For Business, Explores Partnership Models, Provides For Physically Challenged Passengers
“FAAN is ready for business and this government is ready for business,” said the Managing Director, Chief Executive of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku yesterday at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, when she accompanied the Minister of Aviation & Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo (SAN) on tour of a facility at the airport.
Kuku said “we have major plans in terms of the infrastructure development that is required, in terms of bringing in additional private sector participation. We are exploring various partnership models that would allow us to be able to move forward very quickly.”
“I continue to say that the investments we need to improve the facilities and the infrastructure in the aviation sector cannot only come in from the federal government. The Honourable Minister, you have seen over the last few weeks where he has been engaging with the private sector as well as other government institutions globally to make sure that we can better collaborate, especially around new terminal development, where it comes to increasing our routes so there is some work around route development,” she said, adding that “all we are doing here are just little improvements to our facilities.”
The Minister said during the tour that “what we have just come to do here, is to ensure that in the short term, in the interim, that the customers and the traveling public will have a wonderful experience, and in doing all of these small touches here and there, you can see that the new management has taken care of issues like even disability; those traveling with disabilities. They were not there before. The lifts are working now. Even the new toilets too, you can see the toilets, particular units of those toilets that are also for the disabled. So, they are also thinking along those lines. Also for nursing mothers, you saw the units for nursing mothers. So, all segments of the traveling public, all types of the traveling public have been taken care of by this initiative that we are undertaking here.”
“There is a great improvement here. The management and staff, they worked very hard at making this place look very welcoming and a big lift from where it was before. This is not where we are going. This is not our big plan for the airport, but this is a low-hanging fruit we can hang on to for now. We want to make the place as conducive as possible for passengers who are coming into Nigeria and that is why you can see that the management, they have actually initiated very simple ideas and executed very simple ideas to make the place very cozy. More lighting, new toilets, new signs. For instance, I want to show Nigerians this in particular. Now, we have been very concerned, Nigerians have been very concerned about the issue of harassment at the airport, touting at the airport, extortion by even uniformed personnel.
Now, our first step in addressing this issue is what you have seen here. So, for Nigerians, please look at this. When you come into the E-Wing of the international airport in Lagos, you are going to see a sign discouraging, touting, extortion and general harassment of passengers coming into Nigeria.
Now, there is a QR code. You must make use of it. Don’t come and go to the media and complain that there was nobody to speak to when you are harassed by law enforcement agencies. Use the QR code, use the hotlines and make a call there and then. Don’t say, oh, there was nobody. They dragged you to one corner and they took money from you. Make that call. Pick your phone and make that call and you will be attended to. We also encourage people to be courteous, to be respectful also to the law enforcement agencies at the borders. At the same time, we have also taken measures to ensure that we put a leash around our own law enforcement agencies. So, here you will see it and you will see not only this. You will see it as strategic positions around the airport. It is not all the final solution to it but this is the first big step towards addressing the issue of touting. We encourage Nigerians to use it. So, what you have seen here today, gentlemen, are just simple ideas that a very hardworking management has implemented to make it customer friendly, to make the place customer friendly,” explained Keyamo.
