Confusion at Lagos Airport After Electrical Cable Damage Causes Blackout
- There was a sudden blackout at the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport
- The outage was reportedly triggered by a damaged power cable, possibly during maintenance work
- The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria confirmed that power was later restored
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The international wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport on Tuesday, March 17, was thrown into confusion 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 situation.
Source: Getty Images
Punch reports that 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.
Sources quoted said that the power outage may have been caused by a Chinese contractor carrying out maintenance work at Terminal 2, which allegedly damaged a critical power cable.
The latest disruption 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 outage shortly before a fire incident affected part of the facility.
At the time, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria attributed the disruption to a fault during a power changeover process.
Power restored at airport
According to the agency, the interruption occurred after an issue arose during a power transition operation, prompting the immediate deployment of technical teams.
The authority said its engineers worked swiftly to bridge the gap by transferring the electricity supply to a secondary grid while activating interim backup systems to restore services.
Source: Getty Images
The agency said in an earlier statement:
“MMIA Terminal 1 experienced a power outage yesterday caused by a fault in the changeover circuit. The airport apologises to passengers and stakeholders for the inconvenience.”
Meanwhile, at about 9:49 pm, FAAN spokesperson Henry Agbebire confirmed that power had been restored to the aerodrome.
He said.
“Power was restored about 30 minutes ago. The outage had disrupted the baggage carousel, causing delays in luggage handling, but electricity has now returned.”
He added that the airport manager had also confirmed the incident, noting that normal operations were gradually resuming.
IKEDC apologise to customers
In a related development, Legit.ng reported that Ikeja Electric expressed regret to customers affected by outages across its network, attributing the interruptions to limited gas supply, which in turn affects national grid power generation.
The company stated it was aware of the inconvenience to homes and businesses and assured that measures are underway to resolve the issue.
The utility added that stakeholders in Nigeria’s power sector were actively working to resolve the generation shortfall and improve supply stability.
Source: Legit.ng
