Some Kano residents on Wednesday commended the federal government for reopening the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) after 13 months closure, due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

The residents who travel through the airport for their local and international businesses on Wednesday said that they were happy about the development.

A regular air traveller and a businessman, Muhammed Atiku, said that he had incurred extra expenses due to the closure of the Aminu Kano airport.

Mr Atiku said that when other countries opened their airports after the lockdown, importers using the airspace formed the habit of rushing to import their goods and that led to extra charges.

“At the time, domestic flights were very expensive and we had to fly to Abuja and Lagos to travel abroad, which was a double jeopardy,” he explained.

Mr Atiku lauded the federal government for reopening the airport at a time when lesser Hajj (Umrah) operations was about to begin.

Auwal Abubakar, also an importer, said the reopening of the airport was timely and commended the government for responding to peoples’ concerns.

Meanwhile, the regional general manager, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Gambo Aboki, told reporters that the operation was a test-run service.

Mr Aboki explained that the test-run operations would prepare the airport for full services soon.

At the reopening of the airport on Tuesday, Ethiopian airlines immediately resumed operations with its first flight landing with 11 passengers on board as part of the test run.