By ImeAkpan
Lagos
The minister of aviation, Mr. OsitaChidoka has said that Nigerian airports are grossly under-performing and none of them is ranked among the best 20 in the world.
Speaking yesterday in Lagos, Chidoka also said the aerodromes are poorly connected as their facilities need to be upgraded.
“It is regrettable that most of our airports are under-performing. Our airports are rated poorly by Skytrax. We must do a quick turnaround. We must change the perceptions we have outside as a result of our bad airports. The airports are the first contact with any country; so, we must change that perception,” he said.
Chidoka also said that a recent survey carried out revealed that only the MurtalaMuhammed Airport Terminal 2 operated by Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL) was rated highly among all the airports in the country.
“From dirty floors and bathrooms to the regular request for bribes, travellers were unimpressed with the airports that made it onto this year’s worst airports in Africa list. Government is not comfortable that none of the country’s airports ranks among the best ten in the world and among the best 20 in the world,” he said.
Meanwhile, he said plans were afoot to certify the Lagos and Abuja airports to meet the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) requirements.
He also stated that government was on the verge of reviewing all the concessions in the sector in line with global standards.
“There are so many concession pacts that have come under scrutiny and which have lingered for years,” he added.
On the airlines and efforts of government to bring them out of the woods, the minister said he had met with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on how to ameliorate the problems of the carriers in accessing foreign exchange at official rate instead of resorting to the black market.