British Airways, South African Airways reject Kaduna airport (updated)

British Airways and South African Airways say they will not to fly to Kaduna during the six weeks that Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport would be shut.

The Abuja airport would be closed from March 8 in order to carry out repairs on its runway.

The airlines made known their decision five days after Lufthansa ruled out the option of flying to Kaduna.

“That proposal would impact on aircraft availability and connectivity for our passengers,” Tlali Tlali, South African Airways spokesman,  said.

Kola Olayinka, country commercial manager for British Airways, cited logistics as the reason the airline would not go to Kaduna.

Olayinka also said the airline may also face challenges in Kaduna such as poor facilities, fear of baggage loss and difficulty for passengers travelling with children.

“I want to tell you that we have taken a decision not to operate to Kaduna because of logistics. We will resume operations immediately the facility is fixed,” New Telegraph quoted Olayinka as saying.

KLM, and Air France have temporarily canceled flights to Abuja during the repairs, but they said flights to Lagos will continue.

Officials say the runway of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport is in shocking disrepair and that attempts to fix it piecemeal since its lifespan ended have failed.

An SAA plane was damaged on landing there in August.

The federal government has said it would be impossible to carry out the repairs at night to help minimise the massive disruption to business and the economy.

The Abuja airport is the second busiest international airport, with about a half-million international passengers passing through in the second half of 2015, according to government data.

Government had promised to provide security on the highway from Kaduna to Abuja and to upgrade facilities at Kaduna’s airport.

Three months ago, that airport did not have computers, with airline officers issuing handwritten boarding cards.