FAAN spokesman, Yakubu Dati, was responding to the ranking of Port Harcourt Airport as "the dirtiest and most corrupt airport in Africa" even as Abuja, and financial hub, Lagos, were judged seventh and 10th worst on the continent, which was promptly disputed by FAAN.
"While we regret any inconvenience experienced at these airports, including Port Harcourt International Airport, due to ongoing construction projects, we promise all airport users that services at these airports will surely get better at the completion of these projects," he told AFP.
Nigeria's aviation industry has evolved since the liquidation of the state-run Nigeria Airways in the early 2000s because of mismanagement and corruption. With more than 20 functional planes in 1979, the national carrier was left with just two in 1999, prompting the government to throw open the skies to the private sector.
Med-View recently got the nod to fly Lagos-London from November 20 while the British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Lufthansa, Air France-KLM, Gulf carriers, Emirates and Qatar Airways and African airlines, South African and Ethiopian are among international carriers flying to Nigeria.
In 2012, the government awarded contracts to remodel Nigeria's 22 airports, including the construction of new terminals at four international airports, with the help of a $500 million, about N99.6 billion loan from China's Nexim Bank.
ITRealms recalls that unhelpful staff demands for bribes, lack of seating, broken air-conditioning and a tent for an arrivals hall were part of the reasons Nigeria's Port Harcourt International Airport was recently voted the worst in the world. The damning verdict came from a travel website, sleepinginairports.net, based on feedback from thousands of travellers on criteria such as terminal services and facilities, cleanliness and comfort.
Cyriacus Nnaji/GEE
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