Abuja airport shut over private jet mishap

Flight operations at the Nnamdi Azikiwe international airport have been suspended as a result of a mishap involving a private jet operated by Nest Oil.

The jet skidded off the runway while landing and lost its landing gear in an attempt to return to the runway.

A witness told TheCable that officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had to push the jet off the runway with their hands.

The runway is the only one available for use at the airport.

Commenting on the incident, Hadi Sirika, minister of state for aviation, said the airport would be shut for 30 minutes.

A private jet operated by Nest Oil, skidded off Abuja runway while landing, lost landing gear in an attempt to return to the runway. The Airport will be closed for about 30 minutes, bear with the situation, please 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

— Hadi Abubakar Sirika (@hadisirika) January 25, 2018

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Henrietta Yakubu, general manager, corporate affairs, FAAN also confirmed the incident, saying the agency was trying to take safety precautions and that the airport would be reopened within the hour.

But the shutdown has lasted for over one hour.

“The airport was shut around 4:30pm and we were told it would last 30 minutes. We have spent almost an hour here,” said the passenger, who did not want her name mentioned.

In 2017, the airport was closed for six weeks to allow repair works on the runway.

The Kaduna international airport was the alternative airport for flight operations at the time.