The airport in Abuja, Nigeria, has reopened after being closed for six weeks for urgent repairs to its runway
The Abuja airport closed six weeks ago amid damage to its runway. An Ethiopian Airlines flight was the first to land on Tuesday 18 April, in the morning. This first plane on the new runway was the latest Airbus A350-900 from Ethiopian that Africa had welcomed.
President Buhari praised ministries, security agencies and others over the re-opening of the Airport. He was impressed with such displays of inter-agency cooperation and efficiency in the operation of the entire federal government machinery. He also thanked Ethiopian Airlines for cooperating with the Nigerian government during the period of the closure of Abuja airport.
Henrietta Yakubu, a spokesman for the aviation authority, said repair works were completed 24 hours ahead of schedule.
Flights had been diverted to Kaduna, 160 km from the capital, and some international carriers refused to operate the new route.
Those airlines are now taking bookings for flights later this week.
The rapid repairs ahead of schedule show the world that Nigeria is open for business as it continues to improve its infrastructure and interconnection between its regions.
