The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) on Wednesday issued a seven-day ultimatum to owners of abandoned aircraft at the graveyard of the Murtala Mohammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, to evacuate them.

The FAAN Director of Airport Operations, Capt. Henry Omeogu, said this in a statement issued in Lagos while on safety inspection at the Murtala Mohammed Airport Domestic Terminal 1.

Omeogu said the Authority was ready to dispose the aircraft, in line with the provisions of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

According to him, the action has become necessary due to recurring operational hitches that have been posing serious safety concerns to aircraft and some infrastructure at the terminal.

He added that this was to forestall situations where unscrupulous elements would use them as hiding place to perpetrate criminal activities.

The director, however, appealed to owners of the aircraft, some of which had been parked at the graveyard since 2005, to immediately remove them.

He said the Authority would continue to do everything possible to ensure the safety and security of travellers and other airport users, in line with its mission statement.

Omeogu enjoined stakeholders to partner with the Authority to ensure safer and more secure airports.