Market News

By Olasunkanmi Akinlotan

Panic and confusion gripped passengers at the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport on Tuesday night after a damaged electric cable triggered a sudden blackout, plunging parts of the terminal into darkness.

The outage, which occurred during peak travel hours, disrupted passenger check-in processes and left many stranded as airline staff and airport officials scrambled to manage the unfolding situation.

A source who refused to give his name for personal reasons said, “There was confusion everywhere. People didn’t know what was happening, and the lines just stopped moving.”

As of 9:00 pm, officials were still struggling to restore normalcy, with technical teams working urgently to resolve the fault and prevent further disruption.

Another source at the airport revealed that the incident may have been caused by a Chinese company carrying out maintenance work at Terminal 2, which allegedly damaged the critical power cable by mistake.

The latest incident adds to a growing list of power-related challenges at the airport, which has experienced intermittent outages over the years. In 2024, a similar blackout caused significant delays and disrupted flight schedules, leaving passengers frustrated.

More recently, in February 2026, the Terminal 1 wing of the airport suffered another power outage shortly before a fire incident impacted part of the facility. The airport has also experienced several other power disruptions on different occasions.

At that time, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria attributed the disruption to a fault during a power changeover process. According to the body, the interruption occurred after an issue arose during a power changeover operation. The agency said its technical teams were immediately deployed to manage the situation.

FAAN explained that its engineers worked swiftly to bridge the gap and transfer electricity supply to a secondary grid while activating interim backup systems to restore services as quickly as possible.

FAAN stated, “We acknowledge the power outage at MMIA Terminal 1 yesterday (the weekend).” The interruption was caused by an issue with the changeover circuit. We apologise to all passengers and stakeholders affected by the disruption and any discomfort it caused.”

Meanwhile, around 9:49 pm, FAAN spokesperson Henry Agbebire confirmed to our correspondent that power had been restored to the aerodrome.

He said, “About 30 minutes ago, power was now restored. The power outage affected the carousel, and that was what led to the delay in baggage coming out. But as I speak now, light has been restored.

“This confirmation is from the airport manager, who confirmed that there was a power outage which affected the carousel as I speak with you now.”