President, Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ASRTI) Dr Gbenga Olowo has urged the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to get the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) three lettered codes to differentiate each of the terminals at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos.
He said the four terminals at the Lagos airport; the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), and three domestic terminals, including the Murtala Muhammed Airport Two (MMA2), which is a private owned-terminal needs distinct identification marks.
Olowo said absence ICAO codes often leads to many passengers missing their flights.
Olowo said obtaining the codes would prevent chaos and flight misses by air travelers even as he urged the management of FAAN to take a cue from other airports across the world with multiple terminals but are differentiated with ICAO codes.
Olowo cited New York City, which has John F. Kennedy (JFK), LaGuardia Airport (LGA), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to distinguish domestic terminals, while Paris City has Paris Orly Airport and Charles de Gaulie Airport (CDG).
For London City, he noted that the city has London Heathrow Airport (LHR), London Gatwick Airport (LGW) and others with ICAO codes to separate them from others.
He insisted that it was essential for FAAN to obtain three letter ICAO codes to differentiate Lagos airport terminals.
He further emphasized that the management could use the protocols occasioned by Covid-19 virus pandemic to clear the confusion.
He said: “Please, use the new protocols occasioned by Covid-19 to also clear the long standing confusion of LOS (Lagos) City with four terminals. As it stands, we have one international and three domestic terminals in Lagos airport alone.
“ICAO Codes are needed to clearly differentiate the airport terminals for interlining reservation purposes. Passengers at departure origins, interlining, and doing flight connections have missed their flights several times reporting to a wrong terminal especially to MMA2.
“Airlines are also intolerant with cancellations or missed connections introducing all kind of fees and surcharges
