Minister of State for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika on Sunday clarified that there was no case of earthquake at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) as reported in an online medium.

What happened, according to the Minister, who flew in from Abuja over the report was a vibration caused by the “unlatched doors where the coolers which have just been put into use are housed”.

He said the vibration was not in any way a structural issue at the foremost airport, describing the rumours as erroneous and misleading.

He said the doors were not well-latched and the vibrations happening were directly under the office of Royal Air Maroc which caused tension at the airport.

He said, “Well first and foremost it is wrong and erroneous that the structure of the Murtala Muhammed Airport is failing and there was earthquake as reported by some sections of the media, it is not so.

“What happened is that there was a vibration at the air handling room of the cooling system. This door is a huge metal door that needs to be locked properly. It was locked but it wasn't latched properly, the latches were not in place and that gave rise to the vibration because there are moving parts, there are motors and fans and other things that are activated and they function the motion to create the necessary cooling system.

“That door responded to the vibration and because it wasn’t latched, it was vibrating and that vibration was directly under the counter of Royal Air Maroc and they assumed the structure was vibrating to the point of collapse.”

The Minister said officials of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) responded on time to the problem.

“Once our men were alerted, they went promptly, identified the problem which was the door, and latched the door and since then there has been quiet, so it's not true,” he added.

•Text courtesy of Daily Trust on Sunday.

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