Flight Operations Begin As FAAN Contains Fire Outbreak At MMIA Terminal One

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, says flight operations have resumed fully at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, after a fire outbreak which disrupted operations in the airport earlier.  

Channels Television’s crew captured smoke bellowing from the Terminal One area of the facility on Monday evening.

Managing Director and Chief Executive of FAAN, Olubunmi Kuku, said preliminary investigations reveal that the fire may have started from the ground floor of the airport’s Terminal One, where there are offices and a restaurant, from where it escalated to the roof.

Kuku noted that some people were injured but, however,reiterated that no fatality was recorded.

FAAN had on Monday said that it recorded a fire outbreak at the terminal.

In an updated post on X (former Twitter), it revealed that a crane was successfully deployed to support rescue operations at the Control Tower, and all 14 persons initially trapped were safely rescued and fully evacuated from the facility.

“A total of six casualties — comprising three males and three females — were recorded, all of whom are in stable condition. One affected individual has been transferred to the FAAN Headquarters Hospital for further medical evaluation and remains stable,” it said.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service said that the fire started from the IT server room before it was contained.

“The fire which emanated from the IT Server room on the 3rd floor of the five-storey building by the E-wing of the departure lounge has been confined by the multi-agency efforts. Further updates will be made available in due course,” it said in a statement signed by the Controller General, Margaret Adeseye.

The incident disrupted flight operations.

Air Peace said on Monday evening that inbound and outbound flights across its network experienced delays.

“We empathise with passengers affected by this development and assure the public that we are working closely with relevant airport authorities while closely monitoring the situation,” it said in a statement on X.

Last year, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, defended plans by the Federal Government to remodel Terminal One of the airport with ₦712bn, saying it was in quest to meet world-class standards.

The fiscal approval by the Federal Government for the project triggered discontent from various quarters as critics argued that it was a misplacement of priority by the Bola Tinubu administration at a time when millions of Nigerians groan under all-time high inflation, hunger, and skyrocketing living costs.

But Keyamo argued that the airport upgrade would be funded “through the Renewed Hope Infrastructural Funding,” as it was “not a budgetary kind of expenditure”.

He also stated that without the rebuilding of the airport terminal, many foreign airlines would abandon the country’s route.