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Coordinates: 06°34′38″N 003°19′16″E / 6.57722°N 3.32111°E / 6.57722; 3.32111

Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA)
IATA: LOS – ICAO: DNMM
Summary
Airport type		Public
Owner/Operator		Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN)
Serves		Lagos, Nigeria
Location		Ikeja
Hub for		Arik Air Nigerian Eagle Airlines
Elevation AMSL		135 ft / 41 m
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	m	ft
18R/36L	3,900	12,794	Asphalt
18L/36R	2,743	8,999	Asphalt
Sources: FAAN [1] and DAFIF [2][3]

Murtala Muhammed International Airport^[1] (IATA: LOS, ICAO: DNMM) is located in Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria, and is the major airport serving the city of Lagos, southwestern Nigeria and the entire nation. Originally known as Lagos International Airport, it was renamed midway during construction after a former Nigerian military head of state Murtala Muhammed. The international terminal was modelled after Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. The airport opened officially on 15 March 1979. It is the main base for Nigeria's flag carrier airlines, Nigerian Eagle Airlines and Arik Air.

Murtala Muhammed International Airport consists of an international and a domestic terminal, located about one kilometre from each other. Both terminals share the same runways. The domestic terminal was relocated to the old Lagos domestic terminal in 2000 after a fire. A new domestic terminal has been constructed and was commissioned on 7 April 2007.

In 2008, the airport served 5,136,697 passengers.^[4]

Contents 1 History and reputation 2 Statistics 3 Terminals, airlines and destinations 3.1 Cargo airlines 4 Accidents and incidents 5 References 6 External links

[edit] History and reputation

During the late 1980s and 1990s, the international terminal had a reputation of being a dangerous airport. From 1992 through 2000, the US Federal Aviation Administration posted warning signs in all US international airports advising travelers that security conditions at LOS did not meet ICAO minimum standards. In 1993 the FAA suspended air service between Lagos and the United States. During this period, security at LOS continued to be a serious problem.^{[citation needed]} Travelers arriving in Lagos were harassed both inside and outside of the airport terminal by criminals. Airport staff contributed to its reputation. Immigration officers required bribes before stamping passports, while customs agents demanded payment for nonexistent fees. In addition, several jet airplanes were attacked by criminals who stopped planes taxiing to and from the terminal and robbed their cargo holds. Many travel guides suggested that Nigeria-bound travelers fly into Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano and take domestic flights or ground transportation into Lagos.

Following Olusegun Obasanjo's democratic election in 1999, the security situation at LOS 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. 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.^{[citation needed]}

Recent years have seen substantial improvements at Murtala Muhammed International Airport. Malfunctioning and non-operational infrastructure such as air conditioning and luggage belts have been repaired. The entire airport has been cleaned, and many new 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.

The Federal Government has given approval for the expansion of the departure and arrival halls of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport to accommodate the ever increasing traffic at the airport.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Statistics

Statistics for Murtala Muhammed International Airport ^[5]

Year	Total Passengers	% Increase	Freight (tons)	Total Aircraft Movements
2003	3,362,464	-%	51,826	62,439
2004	3,576,189	6%	89,496	67,208
2005	3,817,338	6.3%	63,807	70,893
2006	3,848,757	0.8%	83,598	74,650
2007	4,162,424[6]	7.5%
2008	5,136,697[6]	23.5%

[edit] Terminals, airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations	Terminal
Aero Contractors	Accra	INTL
Aero Contractors	Abuja, Benin City, Calabar, Enugu, Jos, Kaduna, Owerri, Port Harcourt, Warri	MMA2
Afriqiyah Airways	Cotonou, Tripoli	INTL
Air France	Paris-Charles de Gaulle	INTL
Air Ivoire	Abidjan, Douala	INTL
Alitalia	Rome-Fiumicino	INTL
Arik Air	Accra, Banjul, Cotonou, Dakar, Freetown, Johannesburg, London-Heathrow, New York-JFK	INTL
Arik Air	Abuja, Akure, Benin City, Calabar, Enugu, Gombe, Ilorin, Jos, Kaduna, Kano, Maiduguri, Owerri, Port Harcourt, Sokoto, Uyo, Warri, Yola	GAT
Associated Aviation	Benin City, Ibadan	GAT
British Airways	London-Heathrow	INTL
Chanchangi Airlines	Abuja, Kaduna, Owerri, Port Harcourt	MMA2
China Southern Airlines	Beijing-Capital, Dubai	INTL
Dana Air	Abuja, Enugu, Kano, Port Harcourt	MMA2
Delta Air Lines	Atlanta	INTL
EgyptAir	Cairo	INTL
Emirates	Dubai	INTL
Ethiopian Airlines	Accra, Addis Ababa	INTL
Iberia Airlines	Madrid	INTL
IRS Airlines	Abuja, Kano, Maiduguri, Yola	MMA2
Kenya Airways	Nairobi	INTL
KLM	Amsterdam	INTL
Lufthansa	Frankfurt	INTL
Middle East Airlines	Beirut	INTL
Nigerian Eagle Airlines	Abidjan, Accra, Banjul, Cotonou, Dakar, Douala, Libreville, Monrovia	INTL
Nigerian Eagle Airlines	Abuja, Kano, Owerri, Port Harcourt, Sokoto	MMA2
Overland Airways	Ibadan, Ilorin, Minna	GAT
Qatar Airways	Doha	INTL
Royal Air Maroc	Casablanca	INTL
South African Airways	Johannesburg	INTL
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul-Atatürk	INTL
United Airlines	Washington-Dulles [begins 3 May][7]	INTL
Virgin Atlantic	London-Heathrow	INTL

[edit] Cargo airlines

Airlines	Destinations
Air France Cargo	Ndjamena, Paris-Charles de Gaulle
Allied Air	Ostend
Avient Aviation	Abidjan, Bamako, Châlons-en-Champagne, Libreville, Malabo, Ouagadougou, Pointe-Noire, Port Harcourt, Sharjah
Cargolux	Luxembourg
Jade Cargo	Sharjah
Star Airlines (Macedonia)	Skopje, Bishkek, Sharjah, Hong Kong

[edit] Accidents and incidents

• On 23 November 1996, hijackers forced Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961, bound from Mumbai and Addis Ababa to Abidjan through many stops (including Lagos), to crash into the Indian Ocean.
• On 30 January 2000, Kenya Airways Flight 431 was originally intended to fly from Nairobi to Lagos to Abidjan, but the flight diverted to Abidjan. The aircraft hit the water after takeoff to Lagos.
• On 28 November 2003, Lagos control cleared Hydro Air 501, a Boeing 747-200 from Brussels Airport for a landing at Runway 19R. The aircraft ended up hitting a stack of asphalt, then slewed left with its first engine in contact with the surface until the nose wheel came to rest in a drainage ditch. The Ministry of Aviation report concluded that the cause of the accident was that the aircraft was cleared to land on a runway that was “supposed” to have been closed.
• On 22 October 2005, Bellview Airlines Flight 210, bound for Abuja, crashed after takeoff, killing everyone on board.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Murtala Muhammed Airport
• Current weather for DNMM at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for LOS at Aviation Safety Network

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