Ibom Air is on course to hit the five million cumulative passenger mark before the end of September, the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, has said.

A statement by the Group Manager, Marketing and Communication, Ibom Air, Aniekan Essienette, said the governor made the disclosure in Uyo earlier in the week while receiving the airline’s latest aircraft, a brand-new Airbus A220-300 delivered directly from the Airbus assembly facility in Mirabel, Canada.

The arrival of the aircraft, the third A220-300 in the airline’s fleet, brings Ibom Air’s active fleet to 10 aircraft, comprising seven Bombardier CRJ-900s and three Airbus A220-300s.

According to the governor, the airline has so far carried 4,953,512 passengers on 65,152 scheduled flights, putting it within reach of the five-million-passenger milestone.

He said: “With 4,953,512 passengers safely carried across 65,152 scheduled flights to date, Ibom Air is on track to cross the five million passenger landmark before the end of this month.

“Out of our current 10 aircraft, five were acquired under this administration to ensure our route network keeps pace with regional demand.”

The governor said Ibom Air currently operates to seven domestic destinations and one regional destination, Accra in Ghana, but planned to increase its network to 12 destinations and 15 routes by 2027.

The planned expansion, he said, would include additional domestic connectivity as well as regional services to Douala in Cameroon, Libreville in Gabon and Malabo in Equatorial Guinea.

Besides, the airline’s operational figures showed that more than N60 billion had been injected directly into the state’s economy through its commercial activities.

Ibom Air currently employs 753 full-time staff, of whom 478, representing 64 per cent, are indigenes of Akwa Ibom State.
The airline also supports an estimated 2,000 indirect jobs across the state.

Eno said the state’s aviation development strategy was not limited to aircraft acquisition, stressing that investment in technical manpower was equally critical to sustaining the industry.

He disclosed that 14 of Ibom Air’s 30 pilots are Akwa Ibom indigenes, while 16 of its 40 aircraft engineers are also from the state.

He further revealed that 10 additional pilots were undergoing simulator training in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, while another 10 aviation specialists were receiving training at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria.

Eno commended the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, and the Federal Government for granting Victor Attah International Airport international airport status.

He said the development would complement the state’s investments in aviation infrastructure and strengthen Uyo’s position as an emerging aviation hub.

Also, the Chairman of Ibom Air, Mfon Udom, said the arrival of the new A220-300 would enable the airline to restore its domestic flight frequencies while accelerating its regional expansion programme.

According to him, the aircraft would allow the carrier to immediately restore three daily flights on the Uyo-Lagos and Uyo-Abuja routes, while Lagos-Abuja services would return to seven daily frequencies.

He explained that the first phase of the airline’s regional expansion would connect Uyo directly with Douala, Libreville and Malabo in the coming months.

Udom further assured that the carrier would extend its reach across the continent as it takes delivery of the remaining aircraft under its 10-unit order through direct purchases and lease-purchase arrangements.

The latest fleet addition is expected to strengthen Ibom Air’s capacity and support its ambition of becoming a major player in the West and Central African aviation market.

One editorial point I would flag for fact-checking before publication is the claim that banning e-hailing at airports
“violated antitrust laws.” That is a legal conclusion and would ideally be attributed to Caulcrick as his opinion rather than presented as an established fact.