By LAWANI MIKAIRU & DANIEL ETEGHE
Chairman of IRS Airline, Alhaji Isiaku Rabiu Isiaku has decried the lack of modern equipment  to tackle the surge of insecurity at  Murtala Muhammed Airport Lagos and other airports across the country.

Speaking at the 10th year anniversary celebration of IRS Airline at their office in MMA2, Alhaji Isiaku noted that although the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) was doing its best in the area of security at the airports, more still needed to be done for the airports to be safe and completely secured for the travelling public.

He said: “We have many problems bedeviling the aviation industry but the one that is paramount is in the area of security. We complained about the security challenges at the airports and I want to say that FAAN is doing well in this aspect but more still needs to be done. In my own opinion, I think that what we need is modern equipment to tackle this issue of insecurity in our airports once and for all.”

He also called on the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency fix the airfield lighting system on Runway 18left of MMA2 stressing that in the last three to four years, airline operators have not been able to land on the runway beyond 6pm.

The IRS boss added that not being able to land at the runway was posing a great threat to the safety of both the passengers and the flight crew on board.

He also noted that aside from the safety implication, there was also a huge cost implication incurred by the airline operators for having to taxi from the domestic wing to the international wing before they could take-off at night.

“Infrastructure is another big problem. For the past three to four years now, we have not been landing at the domestic runway 18left. It costs us a lot of money having to taxi from the international airport to the domestic airport and vice versa. It also affects our departure,” he affirmed.

Speaking on the 10th year anniversary of IRS Airline, Alhaji Isiaku noted that since the airline started its operations in 2001, they have never had any major accident hence the need for them to celebrate.