48-hour power outage at Lagos Airport disrupts airlines’ operations

Flight operations were disrupted at the international terminal of the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, for two days, Saturday and Sunday, following continued power outage.
The power outage, which had not been restored as at the time of filing this report, had affected international operations of airlines flying in and out of the airport.
The General Manager, Public Affairs, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr Yakubu Dati, confirmed the development on Sunday in Lagos to newsmen.
“There was a power outage from the PHCN and the airport has continued to rely on our independent power supply.
“However, when power was restored, the surge adversely affected the K16 transformer that serves the Air-bridges and rendered them unserviceable.
“This has adversely affected operations of departing flights. The heavy rainfall has further delayed attempts by our electrical engineers to effect repairs immediately,” he said.
However, FAAN had apologised to passengers, airlines and the general public for the inconvenience caused by the development.
The authority said that efforts were being made to find a lasting solution to it
As a result of this development at the nation’s busiest airport, passengers boarding or disembarking aircraft now use the ramps rather than the tarmac fingers.
As at Saturday, August 27, the disruption necessitated by the power failure affected international flights operated by KLM/Air France, British Airways, Lufthansa and South Africa Airways.
A source close to one of the airlines said that the disruption continued on Sunday as electricity had not been restored.
The source said that passengers on international flights operated by Arik Air, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Air Maroc also used the ramp.