Flooding Forces Shutdown of Temporary Terminal at Lagos Airport, Airlines Relocated

Flooding Forces Shutdown of Temporary Terminal at Lagos Airport, Airlines Relocated

There was disruption at the temporary terminal of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos, on Sunday after heavy rain led to severe flooding across the facility.

Water submerged the departure hall, boarding gates, airline offices, and other areas of the makeshift structure. The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, immediately closed the terminal because airlines could no longer check in or board passengers.

As a result, international carriers including Air France-KLM, Ethiopian Airlines, and Fly Gabon were moved out of the terminal. Officials said the terminal’s power house was also flooded, which forced authorities to cut off electricity.

All airlines operating from the facility were later relocated to Terminal Two of MMIA. FAAN officials blamed the flooding on blocked drainage channels, which they said was due to the Chinese firm handling the reconstruction of the old international terminal.

The incident occurred just months after FAAN closed the old MMIA terminal for a major reconstruction project put at over N600 billion. A fire outbreak had also damaged parts of the old terminal a few months earlier.

Sources at the airport said the ongoing work by the Chinese contractor has led to several operational disruptions.

Confirming the incident, FAAN’s spokesperson, Henry Agbebire, said the construction work had temporarily affected the drainage system and caused the flooding.

“It was the construction works that affected the drainage. For operational reasons, we moved airlines operating from that terminal to Terminal 2, and the development has not really affected their operations,” Agbebire said.

He added, “There were no cancellations at all. We have taken immediate action to fix that problem to ensure it does not happen again. You can rest assured of that.”