FAAN Restores Operations At Lagos Airport After Flooding Disrupts International Terminal

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has restored normal flight operations at the temporary international terminal of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos, following flooding that disrupted activities at the facility.

FAAN's Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Henry Agbebire, said the incident was caused by a drainage disruption linked to ongoing construction works around the airport but has since been successfully contained.

According to him, airport authorities activated contingency measures immediately after the flooding, allowing operations to resume without any flight cancellations.

"The flooding was localised and linked to ongoing construction activities affecting drainage," Agbebire said.

He added:

"The situation was promptly managed through established operational contingency measures. No flights were cancelled and passenger safety was never compromised."

The flooding followed heavy rainfall on Sunday, which inundated several parts of Lagos and affected sections of the temporary international terminal at the airport.

The incident forced FAAN to temporarily relocate international carriers, including Air France-KLM, Ethiopian Airlines and Fly Gabon, to Terminal Two while engineers worked to restore normal conditions.

Agbebire explained that the volume of floodwater was significant enough to interrupt operations at the terminal, necessitating the temporary relocation of affected airlines.

"It was enough to disturb operations, and water flowed into the terminal. That was why the airlines affected were moved to Terminal Two while our technical team and the contractor mitigated the issue," he said.

He confirmed that the affected airlines have since returned to the temporary international terminal following the successful completion of emergency drainage interventions.

To prevent similar incidents, FAAN said it has commenced corrective measures to improve the airport's drainage infrastructure as the rainy season continues.

"We have commenced corrective measures to strengthen drainage and prevent a recurrence. We will continue to monitor developments and it is something we will give priority to during this rainy season," Agbebire stated.

The authority reiterated its commitment to maintaining safe and uninterrupted airport operations while ongoing construction projects at the airport continue.