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Nigeria's capital airport set to reopen after runway repairs

Xinhua, April 18, 2017 Adjust font size:

Nigeria's capital city airport is "quite operational" and set to reopen Wednesday following completion of repair works on its 3.6 kilometer-long runway, local officials said Tuesday.

Head of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority said the repair work, which lasted six weeks, has been done "quite satisfactorily in line with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standard and recommended practices."

"The airport, the runway is very ready to accept flight operations safely," he said in a statement.

The Nigerian government ordered the temporary closure of the runway on March 8.

The runway needed to be repaired because it was actually designed for use for 20 years but was used for 34 years without necessary repairs due to negligence.

During the temporary closure, Abuja-bound local and international passengers flew to Kaduna, in the country's northwest region, and traveled by bus, train or helicopter, into the capital city.

An official of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria said the runway had been completely cleaned up ahead of flight operations.

Air Peace, a local airline, told Xinhua it had made arrangement to resume its normal flight operations at the Abuja airport on Wednesday.

The Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, the main airport serving the Nigerian capital city and named after the country's first President, Nnamdi Azikiwe, has an international and a domestic terminal that share its single runway. Endit