… terminal can process 1 million passengers per year
…has four methods of fire prevention
…features high security architecture
Posted by Sade Williams
The new Victor Attah International Airport Smart Terminal, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has been described as a game changer in Nigeria’s Aviation sector.
Chief Operating Officer, Ibom Air Ltd, Mr. George Uriesi, stated this in an interview recently, saying that the smart terminal is specifically designed to give passengers world class experience through the seamless transit facilities provided at the terminal.
“The new terminal brings a huge game changing reality to the industry in Nigeria. First of all, it’s the first purpose- built hub terminal, it’s specifically designed to move passengers from flight to flight, so you can arrive from a domestic flight and connect to an international flight, arrive from an international flight and connect to a domestic flight, arrive from an international flight and connect to an international flight right in the same terminal and under the same airport experience which is world class. And it all adds to the joy of travelling which we had lost in Nigeria because of the poor airport experience that Nigerians passengers and visitors to Nigeria had experienced through the other International terminals over time.
“With this terminal, you want to go Johannesburg, you book a flight like a domestic flight out of Abuja, you fly in to Uyo to connect to Johannesburg, the wow airport experience you would get will make you never want to go and fly out of any inconvenient airport.
“So, it’s the effect of a beautiful transit point in Uyo, a very nice and globally competitive flights to wherever you’re going.”, he said.
Uriesi, who spoke of plans by the ooerators to collaborate with security agencies for a safe and secure environment said: ‘We are going to have a very controlled airport environment, that’s what we want to present to airport users, we are going to collaborate with all the security services and any other person who has anything to do with processing of passengers to make the experience of going through Uyo airport a world-class experience, just like you find anywhere else.’
He said the operators plan to develop Uyo into a hub in West Africa, presenting a smart terminal that’s never been seen in the region before.
“By providing this game changing terminal, we expect to build this hub into a Hub in West Africa that really, has never been seen before. Despite the fact that Lome is a small city in Togo, situating an airline there and working on a strategy similar to this, Asky has been able to develop Lome into a huge hub. Last year, they processed about 1.2 million passengers, of which less than five percent were originating or terminating in Lome. They were all transfers passengers and a vast majority of them are Nigerians who had to go out of Nigeria to Lome to connect to other places, so, that is the problem we are trying to solve, we are trying to yank the airport and flying experience of passengers in Nigeria out of the old stone age into the modern age. That is what we want to do with this terminal.”, he added.
The terminal building is smart in nature with facilities such as electronic doors and could be regarded as the best in Africa with its safe check-in facility by a robot as well as a clinic. It has five avio-bridges, seven elevators and four escalators which are pressure sensitive and only move when a passenger is detected.
It has a very high security architecture with access through fingerprint, digital pass or card pass.
Apart from special roofing that can last up to 200 years without changing its colour, it has four methods of fire prevention: fire extinguishers, fire water sprinkler system, fire detectors, FM 200, i.e automated fire suppression system.
The terminal which is designed to accommodate one million passengers per year, occupies a total area of about 30,000 square meters.
Also recently completed is the first ever Maintenance, Repairs and Overhaul (MRO) facility at the airport.
The airport also comes with a second runway and new aprons for all categories of aircraft.
