FAAN’s Impact on Airport Safety

Chinedu Eze posits thatthe Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has concentrated on improving critical facilities at the airside of the major airports, which has enhanced operations

The airside infrastructure consists of all secure, restricted areas dedicated to aircraft operations and ground servicing. It serves as the technical foundation where planes take off, land, taxi, park, and are serviced. This part of the airport is not comprehensively open to people, except when boarding the aircraft or inside the aircraft cabin but it is the most critical part of the airport infrastructure.

Nigeria’s major gateway, the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos had its runway shut down for repairs when the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku, was appointed to head the agency on December 13, 2024.

At that time, both international and local airlines were using the domestic runway, known as Runway 18L, while 18R, the international runway was shut down.

This adversely affected the airlines. The airlines said they incurred losses due to delays caused by flight traffic, as all flights take off and land on the only operational runway, Runway 18L, traditionally meant for domestic flight service.

Foreign airlines also said they consumed much fuel taxiing to the domestic runway to take off and also from there to the international terminal after landing, which took longer time and also added to the delays.

Work Interruption

By the time the FAAN Managing Director took over, work at the runway was kept in abeyance. The runway was one of the victims of half-hearted political transition, as the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration took over from his predecessor, the late Muhammadu Buhari. So, rehabilitation work at the runway was interrupted, but resumed after Kuku took over the management of the agency.

By the time Kuku completed work on the runway and its related facilities, the Lagos airport became highly improved.

The taxiways were rehabilitated with new lighting, new markings to clearly guide the pilots. Hitherto, once aircraft exited the runway in the night, it was enveloped by darkness until it approached the terminal but the whole aside was lighted by Kuku.

The management also improved the apron (ramp), where aircraft are parked. It was rehabilitated with new asphalt, lighted and marked it with improved aesthetics and better guide for pilots.

FAAN installed new airfield lighting, which is precision system located on the runway, edge lights, approach lights that guides the aircraft to the runway, taxiway guidance lights.

Years of Neglect

So, for decades, Nigeria’s airport terminals have attracted public attention while many of the airports’ critical airside assets quietly aged under the weight of increasing aircraft movements, changing climate conditions and years of deferred capital investment.

Some runways had exceeded their design life. Taxiways required extensive rehabilitation, airfield lighting systems needed modernization, engineering interventions became increasingly urgent as airport traffic continued to grow.

 Under the leadership Kuku, the Authority embarked on one of the most ambitious programmes of airside rehabilitation and safety-critical infrastructure renewal in recent years, a transformation that is reshaping not merely airport facilities but the very foundations of aviation safety in Nigeria.

Because the infrastructure at the airside does not beacon at the public as airport terminal does, many do not know the enormous work that go into providing safe and secure airside facilities. It is arguably the most capital intensive.

Industry insiders said that since Kuku became FAAN Managing Director, she adopted deliberate shift in philosophy.

“What FAAN has done in the provision of infrastructure, especially at the airside of the major airports under the Kuku management, aligns closely with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which identifies infrastructure renewal as a catalyst for economic growth, investor confidence and national competitiveness, with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria as one of the key institutions translating that vision into reality,” said a senior FAAN official.

He noted that Mrs. Kuku has repeatedly emphasised that sustainable airport development cannot be achieved by focusing solely on passenger-facing facilities like the terminal, while neglecting operational infrastructure.

“One of the administration’s earliest milestones was the successful completion of the rehabilitation of Runway 18R/36L and Taxiway B at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. The project restored a critical operational asset that had long required major engineering intervention and significantly improved the airport’s capacity for uninterrupted flight operations, particularly during night-time services,” he said.

THISDAY also learnt that across the country, similar attention has been directed towards runway maintenance programmes, pavement assessments, airfield lighting upgrades, engineering improvements and preventive maintenance systems designed to strengthen operational resilience across FAAN managed airports.

For airlines, dependable airside infrastructure translates into improved operational reliability, reduced delays and lower maintenance risks, for passengers, it means safer journeys.

FAAN has estimated that approximately ₦580 billion would ultimately be required to comprehensively rehabilitate runways across its airport network, a figure that underscores decades of accumulated infrastructure deficits while also highlighting the enormous capital commitment needed to safeguard the future of Nigerian aviation.

Spokesman of the agency, Henry Agbebire has noted that rather than conceding to these realities, the Authority has embraced innovation and ingenious strategy to provide the critical facilities at the airports, adopting utilitarian approach in upgrading these facilities.

He said that recognising effective infrastructure management begins with an honest assessment of existing conditions. This openness, he noted, reflects a broader culture of institutional accountability that has increasingly characterised FAAN’s transformation agenda.

Recognition

The rebuilding of airport airside infrastructure which enhanced Nigeria’s successful passing the International Civil Aviation (ICA0) Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM) audit, achieving a historic aviation safety score of 91.45 per cent effective implementation, was made possible by FAAN’s closing of the gaps noticed by ICAO during earlier audit.

Industry insiders are of the view that what made Nigeria score low in the previous audit was poor airport and airspace infrastructure which was closed when the Tinubu administration took over.

“Globally, airport certification has become one of the strongest indicators of operational excellence. Certification demonstrates that an airport satisfies rigorous international requirements relating to infrastructure, emergency preparedness, operational procedures, safety management systems and continuous oversight. These FAAN achieved and was recognised by the international community.

“It is because of the significant revamp of the airside infrastructure of the airports that the agency won two internationally recognized certifications: ISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management System) and ISO 14001:2015 (Environmental Management System). The recognition was awarded by MSECB, Canada (a leading certification body that recognizes excellence). These certifications proved that Nigeria’s airport operations have met global benchmarks for quality, safety, customer service, and environmental responsibility,” Agbebire said.

He also noted that Nigeria’s recent progress in aerodrome certification reflects years of coordinated investment involving FAAN, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and other aviation stakeholders committed to aligning domestic operations with International Civil Aviation Organization standards.

“This is precisely where FAAN’s infrastructure programme intersects with the broader objectives of the Renewed Hope Agenda. The rehabilitation of airside facilities is far more than a programme of engineering works; it has become the defining expression of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria’s current transformation agenda, demonstrating how sustained investments in safety-critical infrastructure are strengthening operational efficiency, enhancing regulatory compliance, improving passenger confidence, and laying the foundation for a safer, more competitive aviation industry,” he said.

At the domestic wing of the Lagos Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA1), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has been executing major rigid pavement reconstruction of the apron to expand aircraft parking spaces and ease traffic management. Additionally, Runways 18 Left and 36 Right have undergone airfield lighting upgrades to CAT II LED system

Industry insiders remarked that by prioritising airside rehabilitation, investing in engineering excellence, strengthening institutional capacity and aligning airport development with international best practices, the Olubunmi Kuku administration is quietly laying the foundations for a safer, more resilient and globally competitive aviation sector.