The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria reopened Runway 18R/36L at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on Saturday, 17 February 2024, roughly eleven months after closing the 3.9-kilometre runway for what had originally been billed as an eight-week maintenance programme. Kenya Airways was the first aircraft to land on the reopened runway, greeted with a ceremonial water cannon salute, followed shortly after by Qatar Airways and Delta Air Lines.
FAAN had shut the runway, known as the airport's international runway, in the spring of 2023 to carry out asphalt and taxiway work. The closure stretched well beyond its planned duration after airfield lighting cables were stolen from the site on two separate occasions, forcing crews to replace the stolen landing aids before the runway could be certified safe to reopen.
A Costly Squeeze
With the international runway out of service, both domestic and international traffic were funnelled onto Runway 18L/36R, the airport's shorter domestic runway. Foreign carriers complained throughout the closure that landing on the domestic runway and taxiing to the international terminal added significant time and fuel burn to every rotation, compounding delays and costs at an airport already under pressure from currency and fuel price volatility.
FAAN managing director Olubunmi Kuku had signalled in January that reopening was close, saying the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority and the Airline Operators of Nigeria were working together on an interim method to speed up the process. A Notice to Airmen announcing the reopening was issued shortly after midnight on 15 February, though NCAA inspectors initially held back full clearance over unfinished work before signing off two days later.
Relief for International Carriers
The reopening was welcomed by international airlines operating into Lagos, who had absorbed the added costs of the domestic-runway workaround for nearly a year. FAAN said reopening Links 2 and 3 of the runway would ease congestion pressure on the domestic runway and restore more normal international operations at the airport.
