Flights operation were on Tuesday grounded at the Akure Airport in Ondo State over sudden and mysterious appearance of crater on the runway of the airport.
According to sources, a crater was dug by suspected miscreants on the runway, which forced the airport authority to shut the runway which was said to be a preventive measure on taking off and landing of flights.
The Airport Manager, Mrs. Joke Olatunji, who said she was not authorised to speak with journalists on the incident, denied suspension of activities at the airport.
Olatunji, in a suspicious move, led some government officials to inspect the runway but barred journalists from accessing the area to ascertain the level of damage on the runaway.
She said that there were two flights at the airport yesterday but refused to disclose their destinations.
Further investigation, however, revealed that the airport had been closed to operations as a result of the deep hole dug on the runway. It was noted that it was discovered overnight and subsequently led to the closure.
There were no operational activities in the airport, though it could not be ascertained whether it was the closure of the runway that was responsible or the ongoing raging protests and destruction of public and private facilities across the country.
While the spokesperson of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Henrietta Yakubu, confirmed that there were cracks on the runway during the routine checks yesterday, she claimed that the cracks had not affected flight operations in the airport, adding that repair had begun on the cracked portions of the runway.
Mysterious crater on runway grounds flights operation in Ondo
