The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has rejected a recent ranking by SleepingInAirports.net which rated the Port Harcourt International Airport in Rivers State as the worst airport in the world.
A statement issued on Tuesday October in Lagos by Mr Yakubu Dati, FAAN’s General Manager, Corporate Affairs, disagreed with the ranking and said the organization that carried out the rating exercise failed to take into consideration the fact that the Port Harcourt airport is presently undergoing some re-modelling which will invariably cause passengers and operators in the airport some discomfort. The statement in part reads ;
“Our stand is that the said ranking was unfounded as it did not take cognisance of the fact that the airport terminal was still undergoing remodeling. Some of its terminal operations are still conducted in a temporary structure. Apart from this, construction work is also in progress at the site of the new international terminal. We believe that operations at such an airport where construction work is going on simultaneously with normal flight and related operations cannot be as conducive as in those airports where there are no on-going construction projects. Neither can environments at such different scenarios be equally clean, We wish to assure all passengers, airline operators and other airport users that services at our airports are delivered at recommended international standards that ensure safety, security and comfort. While we regret any inconvenience experienced at these airports, including Port Harcourt International Airport, due to on-going construction projects, we promise that services at these airports will surely get better at the completion of these projects”.