The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to fix the faulty escalator and lift at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The House also urged the federal government to provide more airside buses and conveyor belts at the Abuja international airport as well as other federal airports across the country.
This followed the adoption of a motion of urgent national importance by a member from Akwa Ibom State, Onofiok Luke, at plenary.
According to the lawmaker, there is a need to repair dysfunctional facilities and provide new infrastructure at Federal Airports for efficient service delivery to air travellers.
He described as “regrettable” the breakdown of facilities, and lack of certain infrastructure in some federal airports across the country, which he said has caused “inconveniences, difficulty and delays” to air travellers.
Referring to the breakdown of escalators and lifts at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Mr Luke noted that carrying out repairs on them would help in easing the movement of passengers to the departure lounge.
The current state of disrepair, according to him, has forced passengers to use the staircase, adding that the situation constituted a “major setback to the free movement of air travellers”.
“The insufficiency of airside buses at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airports, Abuja, in conveying passengers, especially during the peak hours of 10 to 12 noon, and the lack of conveyor belts to transfer passenger’s bags from checkpoints to the baggage sorting area, led to delay in flight departures,” he said.
Adopting the motion, the House mandated its committee on Aviation to ensure compliance and report back within one month for further legislative action.
Reporting by Ibrahim Shehu; Editing by Fany Olumoye, Abdullahi Lamino and Tony Okerafor