Abuja, April 19, 2025 – Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, has appealed to travellers for the closure of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu,
The airport was closed on Saturday morning to allow for the repair of the damaged runway.
Keyamo made the appeal on Saturday in a statement on his official X handle.
He said the decision to shut down the runway for two weeks, beginning April 22, 2025, was to undertake emergency repair works due to worsening safety concerns.
He said when the current administration assumed office, it discovered that the waterlogged part of the runway was not properly constructed to take care of the problem, leading to constant cracks and potholes on the runway.
The minister said it was unfortunate that the airport, which serves as a key international gateway for Nigeria’s Southeastern region, had previously undergone a major rehabilitation in 2019 that kept it shut for an entire year.
He, however, said the reconstruction failed to properly address the waterlogging issues that continued to plague the runway, which put the lives of the travelling public at great risk.
“I personally visited the airport some months after assuming office and expressed my total displeasure with the work done by the contractor.
“We have been carrying out constant palliative works on it, but the problem has not abated, and the cracks on the runway are becoming craters.
“We sincerely apologise to Nigerians over this development as the airport is our major international gateway in the Southeastern part of Nigeria.
“In the meantime, scheduled flight operations to Enugu will be diverted to other neighbouring airports.
“We are going to work tirelessly to meet the timeline in order to mitigate the inconvenience this closure will cause the travelling public,” the minister said.
