According to Simple Flying, space is the major flaw in the design of MMIA's Terminal 2.
The new terminal of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, which was opened recently, has literally been abandoned by airlines because of design flaws.
The MMIA Terminal 2 was opened for business in March with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari personally inaugurating and touring the new international terminal on March 22nd.
Despite the fanfare and thunderous applause that birthed the new terminal, airlines have continued to operate at the airport's old terminal, abandoning the new one.
According to Simple Flying, space is the major flaw in the design of MMIA's Terminal 2.
The majority of airliners return to the old terminal due to the lack of apron space at Terminal 2, which is not wide enough to accommodate certain widebody aircraft like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, 777, 747 and Airbus A380.
It noted that several carriers, including Qatar Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, British Airways and Air Peace, have not relocated international operations to the new terminal due to this issue.
Aside from MMIA, other airports in Nigeria that have added new terminals recently include Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja and Port Harcourt International Airport. The new terminals were funded by EXIM Bank of China, which has pumped billions of dollars into Nigeria.
Meanwhile, due to the flaws in the design of the new terminal, international carriers have stuck to the old Terminal 1, which means that the plan of the Nigerian government to boost annual passenger capacity at the airport with the construction of the new terminal has been defeated.
Indeed, the design flaws at the new terminal led to delays in the completion of the project as authorities were forced to demolish several buildings including the regional office of the Accident Investigation Bureau Nigeria (AIB-N).
Principal managing partner at Avaero Capital Partners, Sindy Foster told Simple Flying that it was “clear that there would be space constraints before the terminal was even built”.
"You can’t just situate a terminal anywhere you like. That’s what master plans are for. I’m not even sure if anyone is surprised at this point. I’m tired of Nigeria being the laughing stock of the world. We always know what to do here, but we struggle to do things properly. The workaround culture is the dominant culture, not the pursuit of excellence and high standards," he added.
The new terminal features 66 check-in counters,16 arrival immigration desks, 28 departure immigration desks, eight security screening points, a multi-layer baggage sorting system, five arrival gates, six departure gates, and seven boarding bridges.
It also offers two food courts, four premium airport lounges, 22 guest rooms and a spa. Authorities had hoped that the new terminal would boost MMIA's annual passenger capacity to around 14 million.
"This improvement will increase airport operation and management services to about 14 million passengers per annum. With a positive multiplier effect by creating 3000 direct and indirect employment opportunities for our youth," President Buhari said.