MURTALA MOHAMMED INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

'Murtala Muhammed International Airport' is located in Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria, and is the major airport serving the city of Lagos, southwestern Nigeria and the entire nation. It was named after former Nigerian military head of state Murtala Ramat Mohammed. The international terminal was modeled after Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. The airport opened officially on March 15 1979.
Murtala Muhammed International Airport consists of an international and a domestic terminal, located about 1km from each other. Both terminals share the same runways. The domestic terminal was relocated to the old Lagos domestic terminal in 2000 after a fire. A new domestic terminal has been constructed and was commissioned on April 7 2007.
In 2004, the airport served 3,695,714 passengers.

Contents

History and Reputation

Statistics

Airlines and destinations

Previous hub airline

Previous airlines

References

External links

History and Reputation

During the late 1980s and 1990s, the international terminal had a reputation as a dangerous airport. From 1992 through 2000, the US Federal Aviation Administration posted warning signs in all US international airports advising travelers that security conditions at LOS did not meet ICAO minimum standards. In 1993 the FAA suspended air service between Lagos and the United States. During this period, security at LOS continued to be a serious problem. Travellers arriving in Lagos were harassed both inside and outside of the airport terminal by criminals. Airport staff contributed to its reputation. Immigration officers required bribes before stamping passports, while customs agents demanded payment for nonexistent fees. In addition, several jet airplanes were attacked by criminals who stopped planes taxiing to and from the terminal and robbed their cargo holds. Many travel guides suggested that Nigeria-bound travellers fly into Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano and take domestic flights or ground transportation into Lagos.
Following Olusegun Obasanjo's democratic election in 1999, the security situation at LOS began to improve. Airport police instituted a shoot on sight policy for anyone found in the secure areas around runways and taxiways, stopping further aeroplane robberies. Police secured the inside of the terminal and the arrival areas outside. The FAA ended its suspension of direct flights to Nigeria 2001 in recognition of these security improvements.
Recent years have seen substantial improvements at Murtala Muhammed International Airport. Malfunctioning and non-operational infrastructure such as air conditioning and luggage belts have been repaired. The entire airport has been cleaned, and many new restaurants and duty-free stores have opened. Bilateral Air Services Agreements signed between Nigeria and other countries are being revived and new ones signed. These agreements have seen the likes of Emirates, Ocean Air, Delta and China Southern Airlines express interest and receive landing rights to Nigeria's largest international airport.
The federal government has given approval for the expansion of the departure and arrival halls of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport to accommodate the ever increasing traffic at the airport.

Statistics

'Statistics for Murtala Muhammed International Airport' ^[1]

Year	Total Passengers	% Increase	Freight (tons)	Total Aircraft Movements
2003	3,362,464	-%	51,826	62,439
2004	3,576,189	6%	89,496	67,208
2005	3,817,338	6.3%	63,807	70,893

Airlines and destinations

★ Aero Contractors (Nigeria) (Abuja, Accra, Benin City, Calabar, Enugu, Owerri, Port Harcourt, Warri)

★ Afriqiyah Airways (Cotonou, Tripoli)

★ Air France (Paris-Charles de Gaulle)

★ Air Niger (Niamey[starts September 3rd])

★ Alitalia (Accra, Milan-Malpensa)

★ Arik Air (Abuja, Benin City, Calabar, Enugu, Port Harcourt)

★ Bellview Airlines (Abidjan, Abuja, Accra, Banjul, Conakry, Dakar, Douala, Freetown, Kano, Libreville,London-Heathrow, Monrovia, Owerri, Port Harcourt)

★ British Airways (London-Heathrow)

★ Bravo Air Congo (Kinshasa)

★ Cameroon Airlines (Abidjan, Bamako, Dakar, Douala)

★ Chanchangi Airlines (Abuja, Kaduna, Port Harcourt)

★ China Southern Airlines (Beijing, Dubai)

★ Delta Air Lines (Atlanta) [Starts December 3, 2007] ^[2]

★ EgyptAir (Cairo)

★ Emirates (Dubai)

★ Ethiopian Airlines (Accra, Addis Ababa)

★ Ghana International Airlines (Accra)

★ Iberia Airlines (Madrid)

★ IRS Airlines (Abuja, Kano, Maiduguri)

★ Kenya Airways (Nairobi)

★ KLM (Amsterdam)

★ Lufthansa (Accra, Frankfurt)

★ Middle East Airlines (Beirut)

★ Nicon Airways (Abuja, Jos, Port Harcourt)

★ North American Airlines (Baltimore/Washington, New York-JFK)

★ Overland Airways (Ilorin)

★ Qatar Airways (Doha)

★ South African Airways (Johannesburg)

★ SPDC (Shell Private Airlines) (Warri, Port Harcourt)

★ Turkish Airlines (Istanbul-Atatürk)

★ Virgin Atlantic Airways (London-Heathrow)

★ Virgin Nigeria (Abuja, Accra, Calabar, Dakar, Douala, Johannesburg, Kano, London-Gatwick, Owerri, Port Harcourt, Sokoto)

Previous hub airline

★ Nigeria Airways (Abidjan, Abuja, Accra, Banjul, Calabar, Conakry, Cotonou, Dakar, Douala, Johannesburg, Kano, Libreville, Lome, London-Heathrow, Amsterdam, Brussels, Rome-Fiumicino, Zurich, New York-JFK, Frankfurt, Jeddah, Owerri, Port Harcourt, Sokoto, Jos, Benin, Kaduna, Enugu, Ibadan, Ilorin, Yola)

Previous airlines

★ Pan Am (Nairobi, New York-JFK)

★ TWA

★ British Caledonian (Kano, London-Gatwick)

★ VARIG (Rio de Janeiro)

★ Swissair (Zurich)

★ Sabena (Brussels)

References

1. [1]
2. Delta Boosts Investment in Africa with Addition of First Nonstop Flights between Atlanta and Lagos, Nigeria, Delta Airlines website, retrieved February 22 2007

External links

★ Federal Ministry of Aviation

★ Nigerian Airspace Management Agency

★ Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority

★ Federal Airports Authority