Terminal Move: Delta Changes Lagos-Atlanta Schedule

Delta has adjusted the flight schedule of its daily service between Lagos and Atlanta, USA following the relocation of airlines from old to the New International Terminal at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

In a notice to travellers issued on Monday, 2 October, Delta said, “Due the Lagos airport terminal relocation and challenges arising, please be advised that effective 04 October 2023, our Delta flights will depart from Lagos at 1:00pm daily and arrive Atlanta by 8:55pm (same day).” The return flight departs Atlanta at 6:15pm and arrives Lagos at 11:00 am the following day.

According to the notice, check-in at the airport would commence by 7:00 a.m. and end two hours before departure.

It will be recalled that the Nigeria's Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, had in September directed all airlines to relocate their operations from the old terminal to the new Terminal 2 with effect from 1 October, 2023.

Due to limited capacity and insufficient facilities, the relocation of foreign airlines to the new Terminal 2 came with inevitable chaos and flight disruptions. Airlines have had to either delay or cancel flights even as passengers spend hours in long queues to check in and clear security.

After years of inactivity, the new Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos was finally commissioned in March 2022 by President Mohammadu Buhari. The new terminal has the capacity to process 14 million passengers per annum.

Before the relocation order by the Minister, only a few airlines were operating from the new terminal, including Air Peace, Africa World Airlines, and South African Airways.

Recall that Nigeria's Air Peace was the first airline to operate a flight from the new Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos Terminal 2 with its 7:00am Lagos-Accra flight on 19 April, 2022.