MMIA, Lagos.

Muritala Mohammed International Airport, named after Nigeria’s former Head of State, General Muritala Ramat Mohammed, stands as a testament to Nigeria’s growth and progress in the aviation sector.

Recognized by Forbes as one of Africa’s leading Airports, it has come a long way from its humble beginnings, shaping the nation’s aviation landscape and fostering connectivity with the rest of the world.

Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) (IATA: LOS, ICAO: DNMM) (Yoruba: Pápá Ọkọ̀ Òfurufú Káríayé Múrítàlá Mùhammẹ̀d) is an international Airport located in Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria, and is still the major Airport serving the entire state. The Airport was initially built during World War II and is named after Murtala Muhammed (1938–1976), the fourth military ruler of Nigeria.

History

Lagos Airport in 1969 with a Vickers VC-10 of Nigeria Airways and a Fokker F27 Friendship at the stands. The International terminal was on the (right) while the Domestic terminal was on the (left). Ticketing and Main Departures were in Domestic Terminal Hall.

West African Airways Corporation (WAAC) was formed in 1947 and had its main base at Ikeja. De Havilland Doves were initially operated on WAACs Nigerian internal routes then West African services. Larger Douglas Dakotas were added to the Ikeja-based fleet from 1957.

Originally known as Lagos Airport, it was renamed after military head of state Murtala Muhammed in 1976 following his assassination in a failed coup attempt.

A new international terminal modeled after Amsterdam Airport Schiphol was constructed through the decade, officially opened on 15 March 1979, as part of a broader master plan to ensure sufficient capacity through the year 2000. It is the main base for Nigeria’s largest airline, Air Peace, as well as for several other Nigerian airlines. BOAC Avro York in Ikeja Airport, Exterior of 1979.

Murtala Muhammed International Airport consists of an international and a domestic terminal, located about one kilometer from each other.

Both terminals share the same runways. This domestic terminal used to be the old Ikeja Airport. International operations moved to the new International Airport when it was ready while domestic operations moved to the Ikeja Airport, which became the domestic Airport.
The domestic operations were relocated to the old Lagos domestic terminal in 2000 after a fire incident and named (GAT). A new domestic privately funded terminal known as MMA2 has been constructed and was commissioned on 7 April 2007.

During the late 1980s and 1990s, the international terminal was said to be insecure, consequently, from 1992 through 2000, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) posted warning signs in all US international Airports advising travelers that security conditions at Lagos Airport needed to meet up with ICAO minimum standards. In 1993, the FAA suspended air service between Lagos and the United States which affected some airlines like Nigeria Airways  and American Trans Air.

Following Olusegun Obasanjo’s democratic election in 1999, the security situation at Lagos began to improve. Airport police instituted a

“shoot-on-sight” policy for anyone found in the secure areas around runways and taxiways, stopping further airplane robberies. The Police secured the inside of the terminal and the arrival areas outside.

The FAA ended its suspension of direct flights to Nigeria in 2001 in recognition of these security improvements. Through its joint venture

with Nigeria Airways, South African Airways (SAA) inaugurated a flight from Johannesburg to New York via Lagos in February 2001. The airline reserved roughly a third of the seats on the Boeing 747 for Nigeria Airways. SAA terminated the service the following March, stating that it was unprofitable. The company added that in an attempt to increase passenger counts, they had tried to convince Nigeria Airways to accept a smaller seat allotment, but the latter refused. One

month later, Nigeria Airways began their own route to New York with a leased Boeing 747.[12] The airline had to suspend the flight in January 2003 because

creditors had seized one of their last planes. In July 2006, North American Airlines launched nonstop service to New York using Boeing 767s.

By 2010, the FAA had granted the Airport its highest safety rating. That year, the Airport served 6,273,545 passengers.

Malfunctioning and non-operational infrastructures such as air conditioning and luggage belts have been repaired and working optimally.

The entire Airport has been cleaned, and many new Lounges, VIP Lounges, restaurants and duty-free stores have opened. Bilateral Air Services Agreements signed between Nigeria and other countries are being revived and new ones signed. These agreements have seen the likes of Emirates,

Ocean Air, Delta and China Southern Airlines express interest and receive landing rights to Nigeria’s largest international Airport.

On 6 September 2012, then Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, announced that the Federal Government of Nigeria approved a N106 billion loan from the Exim Bank of China to construct 5 new international terminals, including a passenger terminal in Murtala Muhammed International Airport. Construction began in late 2013, and the new international terminal was commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari on 22 March 2022. The new terminal has the capacity to process 14 million passengers annually.

Initially, most airlines did not move their flights to the new terminal as the apron did not have enough space for larger planes to taxi to the gate with the terminal’s layout. In response, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria announced that it would demolish two private hangars to increase the apron space and successfully ordered all airlines to shift to the new terminal by October 2023, stating that the move was necessary to renovate the old terminal.