Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA) (IATA: PHC, ICAO: DNPO) is an international airport located in Omagwa, a suburb of Port Harcourt, the capital city of the Rivers State in Nigeria.
PHIA plays a very important role in the economy of the country The Port Harcourt International Airport ,PHIA, allows direct air connections between the country and major destinations around the world, especially to and from Western countries.
This is because it is located in Port Harcourt, at the centre of the country’s oil and gas industry.
On 18 August 2006, the airport was closed for repairs. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority stated that the emergency shutdown was in order to overhaul the runway and build a fence around the facility.
Such maintenance had been in planning stages for several months, but an electrical fire on 17 August 2006 made repairs immediately necessary.
All domestic flights were diverted to Sam Mbakwe Airport ( Owerri), Akanu Ibiam International Airport (Enugu) and Margaret Ekpo International Airport (Calabar), while international flights were diverted to Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (Abuja) or Murtala Mohammed International Airport (Lagos).
The airport has two terminals for both international and domestic flights. The new International terminal was commissioned by the executive president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari on 25 October 2018. In 2009, the airport served 1,081,587 passengers, making it the third-busiest airport in Nigeria.
Repair work started in January 2007, while re-opening was originally expected to be in August 2007.
In June 2007, work was suspended due to safety concerns of the engineers.
The Oil and Gas industry contributes 85 per cent of Government revenue and over 90 per cent of total exports from the country in terms of value.
The old terminal at the airport is under renovation, although it continues it’s operation of accomodating operate commercial flights.
Work on the construction of a new world class terminal for the airport has also reached advanced stage.
