Flights diverted as fire breaks out at Lagos airport

A fire outbreak on Thursday has caused the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, to divert all flight operations from the E wing of the Murtala Muhammad International Airport, MMIA.

The fire is said to have started in the early hours of Thursday after smoke was detected at E54 bridge.

Officials of the Airport Rescue and Firefighting Services, ARFFS, were quickly mobilised to stop the fire which had cut off the power supply at the section of the old international terminal.

The FAAN Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Mrs. Obiageli Orah, confirmed the fire incident.

Orah said the quick intervention of the airport firefighters saved the day.

“At 05:29 hrs, smoke was detected billowing from the E54 Bridge, leading electrical engineers to immediately cut off power to the entire E Wing.

“The Airport Rescue and Firefighting Services (ARFFS) team was quick to respond, arriving at the scene by 05:30 hrs.

“Initial suspicions point to sparks from an electrical unit as the cause, but a thorough investigation is ongoing to ascertain the cause of the fire. The incident, which had escalated into a fire, was brought under control by 06:41 hrs.

“Efforts to ventilate the smoke from the building are in progress. In the meantime, all flight operations in Terminal 1 of MMA have been diverted to the D Wing,” she said.