Lagos - New Domestic Terminal
The press is suggesting that the terminal is around 90% complete, but how accurate is this and has anyone been there recently? What about the fotos, EBerkhout is u are reading this my curiosity is consumming me alive! I'm eager to find out everything about the building and I mean actual specifications not vague PR in naija websites....Cheers........Naija

The construction of the terminal seems to have been going on forever - anyone have any pics or renders of the building?

I haven't been in Lagos for some time now, indeed the construction is taking too long. I'll ask around with some colleagues, otherwise I am likely to see it myself next month. On a side note, I was at Kano's international terminal yesterday night: still very poor standards. When the KLM flight came in from Abuja en-route to Amsterdam, the lights went off. It took them FIVE minutes to get a generator started, with all passengers and staff standing in complete darkness. Meanwhile the plane did make a touchdown (I think the runway lights must have been working??) I am sorry to use the words, but Kano airport is a complete joke (not to mention the customs and immigration officials consistently asking for presents). Anyway there is some contruction going on, Arik Air is getting their ticket counter next to VK in the international terminal. Cheers EBerkhout

True the Kano Airport is a farce . Nigeria is supposed to be ready for ICAO's aviation audit next month. The authorities have had 1 year to prepare for this critical exercise yet the government is going about bragging about their $40billion foreign reserves with no focused aviation policy! It's now becoming clear that Mr. Obasanjo has failed to revive aviation infrastructure in the country, and if you put this in context of the contuining power failures and numerous fictitious IPPs in the country, one would conclude it's high time a leadership change occurs.

EBerkhout, Thanks and keep us updated, especially about tech. specs (# of aviobridges, etc.)

I agree with you on the lack of planning at a higher level. The sudden closure of Port Harcourt without any announcement says enough. I wonder if Kano will pass the ICAO test! Just back from Kano airport again to pick up some people on VK, and found out that VK had cancelled the flight. I don't know what's happening with them, but they are quickly becoming very unreliable when it comes to maintaining their schedule.

According to VK website (timetable) direct LOS-KAN flights are suspended. It's funny because this basically suggests VK can't compete with Bellview. How ironic, since VK is supposed to be a Virgin-class airline.

Yes and apparently they don't bother to inform passengers who are booked on their cancelled flights. They just let them show up, to tell them they can go home again. Very disappointing and basically not different from how any other Nigerian domestic airline would treat their passengers. But looking at VK's website: Dubai flights are gone as well??????? Do you know anything on the airbusses for B3 which were supposed to come by November?

The problem with VK is that it's undercapitalized. A diverse and eager shareholder base wants profits as soon as 2008 and this is clearly manifesting itself in the form of cut routes and very cautious (and at times negative) market penetration. The situation is a far cry from the VK dream which came about in 2004, and it's really a pitty to see them dragging feet in their Lagos hub project. I mean how is a Dubai and otherwise flight supposed to succeed if they are not feeding their LOS hub from many regional points? Yola, Maiduguri, Abidjan, Freetown, and perhaps Bamako were all supposed to come online this summer but apparently their lack of flight crew is hindering aircraft deliveries. They were offering prospective pilots peanuts. I'm not an insider but to summarize the situation, it's no longer the rosy dream people imagined for Nigeria's "Flag carrier" designated airline. On the other hand Arik Air is coming with at least $150million in the form of new a/c purchases and facilities, so why should they receive any lesser treatment? VK should increase capital base and sustain initial losses on Dubai, etc. in good faith until its network is built-up. Otherwise they should shut up and stop complaining (route exclusivity "breaches" etc.). But this is only my opinion... PS. First Bellview A320 suppose to arrive in December. A new management and a package of new products will presumably usher a new era for the carrier. IMO Nigerian market is big enough to host at least 4 strong carriers. Let's wait and see!