By LAWANI MIKAIRU & DANIEL ETEGHE

The Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos is beginning to witness an upsurge of passengers traffic at the airport due to the forth-coming Easter celebration beginning from Friday to Sunday.

Vanguard went round the various terminals at the airport and observed that passengers were seen on long queues at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Domestic Terminal 2 (MMA2) and the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) popularly known as (MMA1) trying to buy their tickets in order to travel to their various destination.

MMA Lagos.

Investigation into the fares, Vanguard learnt was still at its normal price as Medview Airline from Lagos to Kano was pegged at N23,000 while most of the domestic airlines fares on Lagos to Abuja goes between N23,000 to N27,000 respectively which is subject to changes.

When contacted, General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN),Mr. Yakubu Dati said that a significant upsurge in passenger, cargo and aircraft traffic is expected in Nigerian airports.

Mr. Dati also stressed that the increased would last up to the last quarter of this year, when most of the terminal and other related projects at these airports would have been completed and commissioned.

According to him, with improvements in terminal and airside facilities at these airports, a number of local airlines in the country have already started expanding their route network, some extending to the West Coast of Africa.

The FAAN GM said that some foreign airlines with Lagos as their only destination have also begun to show interest in operating into Mallam Aminu Kano and Port Harcourt International Airports. Qatar Air is one of such airlines, following the recent signing of Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) between Nigeria and Qatar.

“Significant increase in passenger, aircraft and cargo traffic at Nigerian airports, especially those managed by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, became noticeable towards the end of last year. In September, the figure for passenger movements in all the airports was 316, 680. The figure grew steadily to 318, 503 in October, 328,652 in November and 336,652 in December, 2015”.

“During the same period in 2015, cargo movements grew steadily from 13, 504, 252 in September, 15, 435, 842 in October, 16, 102, 686 and 16, 267, 208 in December. Other factors likely to influence the growth of passenger and cargo traffic this year include the completion of cargo terminals at designated airports across the country” Mr. Dati added.