United Nigeria Airlines to activate cargo operations at Ekiti airport in January -Okonkwo

…Says daily flights to commence soon

…As Gov Oyebanji says airport’ll begin 24-hour operations

United Nigeria Airlines has said it plans to begin cargo operations at Ekiti Airport in January, and to introduce daily passenger flights to the state soon after.

This was said by the airline’s executive chairman, Obiora Okonkwo, on Monday at the commissioning of Reeve Energy Limited aviation fuel tank farm facility at the airport.

Okonkwo said the airline would activate a cargo section of its flights by January of the following year.

He said businesses could begin moving goods out of Ekiti to other parts of Nigeria and to international destinations such as London, and said the airline would be the first to carry commercial cargo once the state was ready. He also said the airline would soon begin daily flights in and out of Ekiti.

Okonkwo revealed that United Nigeria is the second-largest consumer of aviation fuel in Nigeria, after Air Peace, saying that this would benefit the new fuel facility, since a steady supply of fuel would serve the airline’s growing operations at the airport.

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On how the airline began operating in Ekiti, Okonkwo said that the airline had not applied for or lobbied for the partnership, and that it had not paid any bribe.

According to him, the state government conducted its own due diligence, compared the airline with others in Nigeria, and approached it because of its fleet and operations.

He also said the airline had accepted reduced passenger loads, carrying 40 passengers rather than 50 on some flights during a period of low demand, which he described as a sacrifice made out of trust in the partnership and the government’s commitment.

“We did not apply for this partnership. But if the government did their due diligence, found us worthy and capable of serving them, and approached us, I was very touched.
And thank God the deal worked. And thank God we are part of what is happening today.

“You have mentioned cargo agriculture.
Let me promise you, his excellency, for your own sake, I’m going to make sure that by January next year, we activate a cargo section of our flights, so that we can work out a deal. As soon as you are ready to start exporting cargo from here, whether it’s to other parts of Nigeria, it doesn’t have to be to London, but besides that, by that time, we’ll be flying to any part of the world. But if you have cargo by January we will be the first to lift your commercial cargo,” he said.

Meanwhile, Governor Abiodun Oyebanji who presided over the event, pledged further government support for the airport and for private investors.

He said the state is working to complete an airport upgrade by the end of the year, including an Instrument Landing System (ILS) upgrade that has been certified and an aerodrome ground lighting project costing more than N10 billion.

Once complete, he said, the airport would be able to operate around the clock, allowing aircraft to land at any time. He said the state is also pursuing an independent power producer (IPP) for the airport so that it can generate its own electricity. The governor commended Reeve Energy Nigeria Limited for investing in the state and assured investors of continued government support.

“By the time we finish what we are doing with the airport by the end of the year by God’s grace, we should be able to complete the upgrade of the ILS that has been certified, then what we are doing now is what they call in aviation the Aerodrome Ground Lightning, that is what we are doing now, that project is costing us more than N10 billion so, by the time we finish that, at least we’ll be able to have 24 hours operation at the airport, this means aircraft can land at any time.

“We are also working on getting an IPP for this airport, we cannot be wasting time on that so once we have an IPP here then the airport will be self-sufficient when it comes to electricity,” he said.