Six injured, flights diverted as fire guts MMIA Terminal
A major outbreak of fire yesterday afternoon disrupted flight operations at the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. It forced foreign airlines, including British Airways, Lufthansa and
A major outbreak of fire yesterday afternoon disrupted flight operations at the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
It forced foreign airlines, including British Airways, Lufthansa and Emirates, to divert their inbound flights to Abuja and airports in neighbouring countries.
The inferno, which affected Terminal 1, also led to the temporary evacuation of 12 air traffic controllers stationed at the control tower of the country’s premier aviation gateway.
The evacuation was carried out using cranes and other specialised equipment, as coordinated emergency responders battled thick smoke and intense heat at the facility.
Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Olubunmi Kuku, said the exact cause of the fire was yet to be established.
She said the authority immediately activated its emergency response plan to prioritise the safety of lives and critical infrastructure.
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Kuku said nobody died although six people sustained injuries and are currently receiving medical attention. She described their condition as stable.
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The MD said the fire caused significant disruption to airport operations, prompting FAAN to set up a temporary departure hall and deploy a remote control tower to minimise the impact on flight movements and passenger processing.
Kuku said: “Despite the magnitude of the incident, our emergency response mechanisms worked as designed.
“We ensured that everyone within the affected areas was safely evacuated.”
According to her, FAAN, in collaboration with relevant emergency and security agencies, is working round the clock to fully bring the situation under control and restore normal operations at the terminal.
She added that efforts were underway to relocate some operations to the new terminal, especially as renovation works are ongoing at the affected old terminal.
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A team of professionals drawn from the building and engineering ecosystem, she said, would conduct a comprehensive structural integrity assessment to determine the extent of damage to the facility.
Kuku commended the swift intervention of the Lagos State Government, the Nigeria Air Force, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Nigeria Police Force and other agencies that supported the emergency response.
She said: “We cannot establish the cause of the fire yet, but preliminary findings point to the ground floor of the terminal, from where it spread to other parts of the building.
“The impact was substantial, with three major international carriers diverting their flights.
“However, we are working tirelessly to ensure the resumption of normal activities as soon as possible.”
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There was visible anxiety among passengers and airport workers, many of who hurried out of the terminal as thick smoke billowed across the facility, grounding flights and bringing operations to a temporary halt.
MMIA is currently undergoing N712.25 billion massive renovation, which started last year.
According to the schedule, the old terminal is expected to be shutdown totally next month and operations are transitioning to a New Temporary Terminal and Terminal 2 to handle passenger traffic during the construction period.
The biggest airport in West Africa was build in 1979 and named after Nigeria’s military head of state Gen. Murtala Muhammed, who rulled between July 1975 and February 13, 1976.
He was killed during a failed military coup d’état
