Passengers who disembark from planes at the Murtala Muhammed
International Airport in Lagos and head toward the arrival hall
expecting world class services are in for shocks, no thanks to the
shameful state of the airport.
Here are five reasons why the popular MMIA does the nation no favours:
- Urine odour
The first shock for passengers is an attack on their sense of smell; a
pervasive odour of urine is almost always certain to invade the
nostrils. Unfortunately like sweet aroma leads to food, the offensive
ordour leads to something worse.
- Dirty toilets
A strong, choking odour in a building symbolises the badly maintained
toilets. That is precisely the case at the MMIA. God help passengers
that forget to handle their “business” on the plane, putting their faith
instead in the airport toilets. Blocked, dirty, stinking toilets await
them.
- Broken conveyor belt
If you have luggage to claim, you do not only have to live with the
offensive odour for several minutes, you also have to banish the sight
of a broken and torn conveyor belt out of your mind. Yes, after a
longer-than-usual wait for your luggage, you have to be careful that a
tattered conveyor belt does not hurt you further.
- Terrible ventilation
Sorry if it rains, sorry if it doesn’t rain. Most of the windows at
the MMIA are poorly maintained and mostly always shut, meaning on a
rainy, cold day, the stench in the arrival hall area kind of “creeps
under the skin.” On a hot day, with broken and inadequate air
conditioners dotting the nation’s premier airport, getting through the
airport means coming out as a sweaty mess.
- Beggarly airport officials
Of course, there are all manner of aviation officials at the airport,
whose basic responsibility is to ensure everything goes smoothly and
that passengers get the best experience possible. Well, someone probably
flipped the brief for officials at MMIA; it appears their objective is
to seize every opportunity to fleece passengers.
Many officials have abandoned professionalism for unnecessary
questions and pleasantries as well as unsolicited offers of help that
end with phrases such as “Don’t forget your people,” “Happy weekend
sir/ma” and “What did you bring for us?” adding to the irritating and
annoying experience that the biggest airport in Africa’s largest economy
offers.
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