The federal government has approved the movement of regional flights to the Murtala Muhammed Airport terminal two (MMA2) in Lagos, following the settlement of a 20-year dispute with Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited.
Minister of aviation and aerospace development, Festus Keyamo, made this known after the federal executive council (FEC) meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu, in Abuja.
As part of the settlement terms, regional flights have now been moved to MMA2, meaning that airlines could start operating regional flights from the facility.
This has been a longstanding issue in the concession of the facility to Bi-Courtney, the operator of MMA2, which reportedly had its approval to run regional flights withdrawn under the regime of former President Goodluck Jonathan, despite the company’s over N600 million investment.
Keyamo said the agreement, reached with Wale Babalakin, Bi-Courtney’s leader, resolves longstanding issues surrounding the concession of MMA2, which dates back to 2003.
According to tge minister, one of the major points of contention was Bi-Courtney’s claim that the concession covered the adjacent MMA1 domestic terminal — a position upheld by the supreme court, which ordered the federal government to pay N132 billion plus interest.
He said Bi-Courtney has agreed to waive the debt, return MMA1 to federal government control, and drop exclusivity clauses blocking projects like the Lekki Airport.
In return, the government has restored to the company the concession for a stalled hotel and conference centre project opposite MMA2.
He described the agreement as a “give-and-take” resolution that benefits both parties.
In a related development, the council approved three rail projects valued at $2.99 billion to boost infrastructure and economic growth.
