MMA2: Still Soaring at Seventeen

Dipo Kehinde

As Nigeria’s first and only privately funded airport terminal marks 17 years of operation today, there are grounds for applause because the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2 (MMA2) is still a hard act to follow.

Since its inauguration on April 7, 2007, and the commencement of flight operations on May 7, 2007, MMA2, operated by Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL) has maintained its majestic stature, soaring higher in the nation’s aviation industry.

The story of MMA2 is that of a revolutionary evolution championed by an erudite scholar and accomplished lawyer, Dr. Bolanle Olawale Babalakin SAN. The terminal has passed through many phases, developing and growing in facilities and reputation.

When MMA2 terminal was conceived, the Federal Government wanted just ‘a shed’ where passengers could buy tickets, then move to the tarmac and board their flights, but Babalakin redesigned the project and elevated it from crass to class.

Today, MMA2, Nigeria’s pioneer Public-Private Partnership (PPP) terminal handles about 75% of domestic flights in Lagos. It is ranked as one of the best airport terminals in Africa, and it was voted the best airport terminal in the country in a December 2014 poll commissioned by the Ministry of Aviation besides many other accolades and awards.

Its 800-car multi-story Car Park (MSCP) is the second largest in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic nerve center and financial hub, and its technology innovations include the Common Users Passenger Processing Systems (CUPPS), Common Users Self-Service (CUSS) (self-service check-in kiosks), Electronic access gates (E-gates) to boost security, the Baggage Reconciliation System (BRS), accelerated check-in process, boarding pass scanner at each gate, and manifest printers.

Handling over 50 flights in a day, MMA2 has installed Passenger Tracking System (PAXTRACK) that makes it possible to restrict access to certain zones based on the boarding pass, and to analyze the passenger movement for better planning of resources, locate a passenger within the terminal, and enable the boarding agent to achieve better on-time performance. It boasts of a fully equipped clinic and organizes facility visits for pupils. It is also the only airport terminal in Nigeria with its own cargo shed. It was recently rated by a former Lagos State Commissioner for Environment as one of the two cleanest places in Lagos; it has received the Most Functional Airport Terminal Award of 2016 by IFC International Limited, an aviation consulting firm; and named Nigerian Airport of the Year in 2017 by WorldStage Limited.

If BASL has contributed this much to the general development of the Nigerian aviation industry and the Nigerian economy, why is the firm not being encouraged to do more when it offered to accommodate regional flights at MMA2 to decongest the MMIA and ensure the safety of aircraft? Why is the capacity of MMA2 being underutilized by the federal government?

 The delay in running regional flight operations from the world-class facilities at MMA2, nine years after BASL had shown its readiness to handle the project, should be a cause for concern to the Minister of Aviation, Barr Festus Keyamo SAN, who has promised to take air travel to new levels.

Some of the airlines engaged in regional flights within Nigeria have been running local flights from the MMA2 terminal. Hence, ease of travel will be promoted.

Over time, BASL has put everything in place to achieve its full potential at MMA2, and Babalakin felt he could do much more to make Nigeria’s aviation space an enviable place, but his overtures to assist in ending decongestion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) and promote the ease of traveling by air, after signing agreement with the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) on May 25, 2015, for the operation of regional flight, has been stonewalled by the federal agency.

Around the time the agreement was signed, several serious incidents had happened at other airports operated by FAAN. On July 6, 2015, the Emirates’ Boeing 777-200LR (A6-EWD) collided with a parked Hak Air Boeing B737-400 at the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) in Lagos. The Hak aircraft was badly damaged, and the Emirates flight was cancelled. There was another incident on October 20, 2015, when two Arik aircraft (Boeing 737-800, 5N-MJQ and 5N-MJP) collided at GAT in Lagos.

As we celebrate the accomplishments of MMA2 in its 17 years of existence, there should be a little less euphoria and more sober reflection on how performance is valued in Nigeria.

•Dipo Kehinde is president of Creative Chambers