Ahead of the Yuletide celebrations, airport terminals in Lagos have been fully decorated to reflect the mood of the season despite the negative impact of the pandemic on the industry.
The Murtala Mohammed Airport terminals, terminal 2 popularly called the MMA2 and the General Aviation Terminal One, the GAT have been beautifully decorated, the lighting of the decorations placed at the strategic locations in and outside the terminals welcomes every passenger and airport users to the terminal.
At night the whole area of the MMA2 is well lite with several decorations adorning the area.
Though the pandemic had had effects on the revenue generation of the operators of all the airport terminals this had not removed the commitment of the operators of ensuring that safety, comfort and security of the terminals are priority.
Regarding preparation towards the Yuletide, Bicourtney Aviation Services Limited BASL, operator of the MMA2, says it is more than prepared to ensure seamless passenger facilitation during the season.
“We are not unaware of the demand of the moment, as such, everything is in sync to ensure everyone is treated to a seamless experience at the terminal”, this is according to Ayotunde Osowe of the Corporate Communications department of BASL.
For the operator, though, the outlook appears to be on positive trajectory, with passenger traffic picking up gradually, it is yet to translate to any meaningful impact.
According to them, the performance as at November, 2020 was not at the same level when compared with same period last year (2019).
Also, the current level of operation is yet to reach the level it was during the pre-COVID-19 lockdown; that is, January to March, 2020.
“Operational costs no doubt are out of control – this is due largely to post-COVID-19 regulatory protocols and other safety issues – these have rendered any noticeable improvement little or no effect”.
As it appears, this update is in line with the submission of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) which described the recovery of passenger demand as “disappointingly slow” in October.
IATA stated in its report that “…with revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) down -70.6% against the same month in 2019.”
As the industry continues to pick up the bits and pieces, it is hoped that in the new year, 2020, the industry, the airlines, terminal operators and other ancillary providers will begin to generate revenue and gradually recover from the blow the Covid-19 pandemic has dealt the industry.
