The Federal Government on Monday said that the second runway project at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja would be treated as a national priority.
Captain Shehu Iyal, the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Aviation, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents on the achievements of the Jonathan administration in the sector.
To this end, Iyal said that President Goodluck Jonathan had given aviation authorities a marching order to immediately revisit the project and bring it to fruition.
He said: “President Goodluck Jonathan has approved and directed the authorities to revisit the second runway project immediately and it is being revisited.
“I am proud to inform you here that I am part of the committee of the second runway project and it is going to be treated as a priority.
“There will be a second runway in Abuja for safety, for security and for efficiency.”
The senior special adviser said that the project would ease the busy traffic on the existing runway and minimise the delay in take-off and landing, currently experienced by passengers at the airport.
On the issue of missing luggage and touting at the nation’s airports, Iyal said government was aware of the situation and was putting measures in place to address them.
He, however, said that the issue of missing luggage was not peculiar to the nation’s airports, adding that it was a global challenge in the aviation sector.
He said: “Luggage get missing both locally and internationally.
“Personally, I have experienced two instances.
“One coming from Frankfurt in Germany of all places.
“The second instance was at the Heathrow Airport in London, where I lost a luggage while coming to Nigeria.
“Such things happen.
“I am not saying that we are right and so we should leave it unchecked.
“I am sure the people in charge of that are looking into it.”
On touting, Iyal said that the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria was currently training and retraining its security personnel to deal with the problem.
He said the Federal Government had resolved to assist airports with policemen and soldiers to check the activities of touts.
According to Iyal, the Jonathan administration has raised the country’s aviation sector to global standard in the last six years.
One of the greatest achievements, he said, was the retention of the US Federal Aviation Administration Category One Status, which Nigeria achieved in 2010 after a rigorous audit by FAA.
He said: “Just last month (September), we were able to retain the US Federal Aviation Administration Category One Status, which we got in 2010.
“It will interest you to know that India, which is one of the top 10 economies in the world, just lost their own Category One status, but we are able to retain our own.
“I think this is an achievement all Nigerians need to be proud of.”
The President’s aide said that the election of Olumuyiwa Aliu as the President of the International Civil Aviation Organisation Council was another major achievement of the Jonathan government.
He explained that Aliu’s election had placed Nigeria in the league of countries doing well in the global aviation sector.
Iyal said: “Coming back home, we have today what is called Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria, which actually started some years ago.
“The completion of the TRACON project under the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency was completed under the leadership of Jonathan.
“What TRACON means is that anywhere within the Nigerian airspace, we are able to track every aeroplane that is either flying in or out.”
Iyal said that the role played by the aviation sector in the success story of the fight against Ebola could not be overstressed.
According to him, the US has started replicating the Nigerian example at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.