Roberts Airport Cannot Continue to Embarrass Liberia

For a country trying to reposition itself as a hub for tourism and regional commerce, the state of Liberia’s only international airport remains a glaring contradiction. The Roberts International Airport (RIA), freshly adorned by a modern terminal courtesy of the Chinese government, continues to crumble under the weight of mismanagement and the absence of basic professional aviation standards.

The most recent embarrassment—a complete power outage on Sunday, March 30, 2025, which left passengers fumbling through the dark with their mobile phone flashlights—is just the latest in a string of failures that reveal a much deeper issue than the flickering of runway lights.

The larger question we must ask is: how did we arrive here, and why do we keep returning?

It is not the first time RIA has been plunged into darkness. In 2022, a Brussels Airlines flight was forced to abort its landing and return to Freetown, Sierra Leone due to a power outage that left the control tower incommunicado. Three years later, under a new administration, we are still here. We have not progressed; we have simply polished the façade.

This most recent incident is an indictment not only of RIA’s operational failure but of the leadership culture surrounding aviation in Liberia. It is unconscionable that an airport budgeted over US$3 million in Fiscal Year 2025 cannot guarantee backup power. It is baffling that three industrial Caterpillar generators—commissioned with fanfare by President Boakai in June 2024—could run out of fuel. And it is unacceptable that airport authorities would attempt to deflect blame onto the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC), only for LEC to publicly reveal that the outage was due to RIA’s own failure to fuel its generators.

Basic international aviation standards are not optional or aspirational — they are foundational. At minimum, any international airport must maintain consistent lighting of runways and taxiways, functional communication with approaching aircraft, a secure and organized baggage handling system, and a professional response protocol for emergencies. These are non-negotiable elements of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards to which Liberia is a signatory. Yet, at RIA, these fundamentals remain elusive.

Runway maintenance is erratic. On February 23, 2025, thick smoke from uncontrolled farm fires near the airport’s perimeter disrupted an Ethiopian Airlines landing. Days earlier, a Royal Air Maroc flight veered off the runway, collecting chunks of pavement and debris—a sign of serious runway deterioration. Baggage handling is routinely chaotic, with passengers often facing long delays and missing luggage, while security checks are inconsistently enforced.

And then there is the human element. From airport management to ground staff, there is a worrying lack of professionalism. Too often, leadership appointments are made not on the basis of aviation expertise but political loyalty. This is a critical flaw. An international airport cannot function like a government ministry. It requires managers with operational knowledge, risk mitigation experience, and crisis response training. Appointing political loyalists over seasoned aviation professionals is not just bad practice—it is dangerous. We made this explicitly clear to the administration of then-President George Manneh Weah when we nominated a comedian to head the Liberia Airport Authority. We remain firmly grounded in this belief under the Boakai Administration. 

President Joseph N. Boakai’s ARREST agenda, with its bold promise of tourism revival, cannot be taken seriously if Liberia’s only international airport remains in shambles. The first touchpoint for any tourist, investor, or returning citizen is the airport. If their first experience is one of chaos, darkness, and disorder, what motivation do they have to return, let alone invest or encourage others to visit?

It is not enough to have a gleaming terminal. We cannot sweep and mop our way to professionalism. RIA must function like a 21st-century airport—not a dimly lit warehouse with aircraft outside. It must be equipped, staffed, and managed to handle the demands of modern air travel. That means backup power systems with fuel supply protocols, a comprehensive fire and rescue service, ongoing staff training in customer service and security procedures, and regular audits to assess operational readiness.

We must give Liberians at home and abroad a reason to be proud of their airport—not just because of the architecture, but because of the experience. Let RIA become a point of pride, not ridicule. If we are serious about tourism, then we must be even more serious about the first impression we give the world.

Above all, this is a leadership issue. The Boakai administration must now decide: Will the aviation sector be led by technocrats or tethered by politics? Will safety be prioritized over patronage? Will RIA be elevated to meet international standards or continue to decline in darkness, both literal and figurative?

Liberia’s development depends on more than promises — it depends on performance. And nowhere is that performance more visible, more symbolic, and more urgent than at Roberts International Airport. Let RIA become the standard-bearer for the kind of Liberia we want to show the world. We can — and must — do better.