Lagos Airport Fire Destroyed Critical Air-to-Ground Communication Equipment — NAMA MD

• The Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Farouk Umar, has disclosed that the recent fire outbreak at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport destroyed critical air-to-ground communication equipment.

The Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Farouk Umar, has revealed that critical air-to-ground communication equipment was destroyed during Monday’s fire outbreak at Terminal 1 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

Umar said the incident forced air traffic controllers to rely entirely on emergency backup systems to sustain flight operations at Nigeria’s busiest airport.

Speaking on Wednesday while assessing the impact of the fire, the NAMA boss described the damage as a major blow to operational infrastructure required for aircraft communication and air navigation services.

“Let me be honest with you, the fire has affected our air-to-ground communication completely. What you see on ground to sustain air traffic service is the backup that we moved from other places to sustain Lagos,” he said.

He explained that the agency’s management team was in a meeting when news of the fire broke, prompting an immediate response, including the deployment of top technical officials to stabilise operations.

According to him, the situation at the peak of the emergency forced authorities to temporarily suspend inbound flights into Lagos to ensure safety while contingency measures were activated.

“We had no option at that time but to suspend inbound aircraft into Lagos. But good enough, there was a prompt response to the emergency,” Umar added.

The fire, which engulfed sections of the terminal on Monday afternoon, disrupted airport operations, caused flight diversions, and triggered a large-scale emergency response.

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During a visit to the site, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, confirmed that the fire caused extensive damage, including the destruction of facilities belonging to the Nigeria Meteorological Agency.

Despite the scale of destruction, Umar reassured passengers and stakeholders that Nigeria’s airspace remains safe, noting that swift professional coordination helped prevent a more severe crisis.

He added that emergency backup systems were quickly redeployed from other locations, allowing flight operations to gradually resume.

“I want to assure Nigerians and the flying public that the Nigerian airspace still remains safe because we take safety as sacrosanct,” he stated.