Dare Babalola
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, conducted an emergency visit to Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, on Monday night, in response to the fire incident at the airport’s Terminal 1.
Keyamo stated that he arrived at the airport around midnight and joined the Managing Director and management team of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), who were overseeing response efforts to contain the fire.
The Minister praised FAAN personnel and other first responders for swiftly activating established emergency protocols.
He noted that the responders‘ prompt and coordinated actions played a key role in protecting lives and minimising the incident’s impact.
Keyamo instructed FAAN’s Fire and Rescue Department, along with the Lagos State Fire Service, to keep an overnight vigil at the airport to ensure the fire was fully put out.
He added that he would undertake a tour of the airport at dawn to assess the extent of damage caused by the fire and issue necessary directives.
The fire, which broke out on Monday at Terminal 1 of the airport, prompted an emergency response and the temporary closure of the Lagos airfield.
FAAN earlier confirmed that 14 persons trapped in the Control Tower were safely rescued with the support of a crane, while six people, three males and three females, sustained injuries and are in stable condition.
Preliminary findings by the fire service indicated that the fire originated from the server room on the first floor of the terminal.
As part of safety measures, the sixth floor of the facility was evacuated, and the airspace was temporarily shut while the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) worked to establish a temporary control tower to restore operations. Flight operations resumed at the airport on Monday evening.
