Flight operations resume at Warri airport after initial closure

Chinazor Megbolu

Commercial flight operations have resumed at Osubi Airport, Warri, Delta state after initial 17-month closure.

Recall the airport was shutdown in February 2020 as a result of controversies between aviation service providers and Shoreline Oil Services Limited, the operator of the airport, over alleged debt and mismanagement.

However, the Federal Government, in March, approved the reopening of the facility for daylight operations.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) is the new operator of the airport.

In his remarks at the reopening ceremony on Friday, the Airport Manager, Mr. Wilson Egwato, said the airport presently operates Warri-Lagos and Warri-Abuja flights, saying that other routes would be added soon.

“We intend to open more routes because the market is very large and viable. The business is here, and we are ready for it.

“Before now, we had three airlines: Arik Air, Air Peace and Aero operating at the airport, but with this reopening, we are having the United Nigeria Airline (UNA), and we are expecting more.

“UNA is setting up its office here. I believe that before the end of July, they will fly Lagos and Abuja,” Egwato said.

Meanwhile, Speaker, Delta House of Assembly, Mr. Sheriff Oborevwori, said the airport would boost revenue generation, both for the state and the federal government.

“We are here to witness the re-making of history. I say this because on April 17, 1999, when the airport was inaugurated, it was the first of its kind in the state.

“It attracted headlines as a major breakthrough in air transportation in Delta,” Oborevwori said.