Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, has lamented the loss of revenue from the cessation of international flight operations at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano.
The Minister spoke when he received a delegation from Kano State, led by Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje in his office in Abuja on Tuesday.
Sirika said it did not make sense to spend so much on the airport and then lock it up with the attendant consequences of revenue losses and hardship to travellers, amongst others.
He told the delegation that included some members of the Kano State House of Assembly, representatives of the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero and members of the Kano Chamber of Commerce, that the decision to suspend international flights to and from the airport, like the ones in Enugu and Port Harcourt, was informed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a statement signed by James Odaudu, Director Press and Public Affairs, Federal Ministry of Aviation, the minister acknowledged the hardship to the users of the airport, passengers and service providers alike, and promised to do his best to ensure the re-opening of the airport at the soonest possible time.
Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje in his remarks told the Minister that the Kano State government had put in place all that was necessary to make the state healthy for flights, including mobilization of the populace for the COVID-19 vaccinations.
