The Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria has announce the recent relocation of airline offices to the upper floors of the Muritala Muhammed Airport is due to its ongoing remodeling of the airport.

The General Manager, Corporate Communications, FAAN, Mr. Yakubu Dati, stated this on Monday in response to protests by foreign airlines on the relocation of their offices.

He said the movement was necessary as it would assist the planned expansion of selected terminals at the airport to improve activities aimed at delivering best services to airports users.

He also explained that the operators and stakeholders had been duly briefed by the authorities of the planned relocation.

Mr. Dati revealed that there has been long before the relocation exercise, a meeting between the Managing Director of FAAN, Mr. George Uriesi, and the relevant stakeholders affected by the relocation, during which they were informed about the need to relocate the affected airlines as well as discuss ways to ease the movements of the affected airlines.

He also pointed out that the planned relocation of the airlines offices will pave the way for the expansion of the E and D fingers at the terminals, to achieve a 25 per cent increment in the operational floor area, adding that this will also help to increase the number of check-in counters to 40 and the 16 Immigration counters to 40.

He commented that foreign airlines had protested against the relocation of the offices to the third floor of the Muritala Mohammed International Airport with the view that the action was not in the interest of the airlines.

However, the President, Association of Foreign Airlines Representative of Nigeria, Mr. Kingsley Nwokoma, who expressed the dissatisfaction in a statement on Sunday, said stakeholders were not carried along by the relevant authorities before the move was embarked upon.