El-Rufai seeks increased flights to Kaduna

The Kaduna State Governor Nasiru El-Rufai has urged Arik Air to up-grade its operation in the state by making the state one of its terminal stations instead of the current arrangement where it operates a stop over flight.

The governor who made the request during a visit to the Arik Headquarters in Lagos, also used the occasion to inspect the airline’s facilities and urged the airline to increase its flight frequencies to the state.
El-Rufai called for appropriate policy environment for the growth of indigenous airlines in the country.

He noted that the aviation sector is a key aspect of the transportation system that requires all the support of the Federal Government.

He said the state has a huge traffic as many businessmen and government officials are always stranded because of non-availability of many flights connecting people from the state to other parts of the country.

“Transportation is important. The Federal Government is aware of that and we need to all advocate for the creation of appropriate policy environment for the growth of the transportation industry and aviation is a key part of that inter- modal system of transportation. The government is aware and it would do the right thing”, he said

He said he was impressed with the facilities at Arik, saing, “I did not know that things were very organized. It is giving a bit of confidence that when I am flying Arik, I’m in good hands”.

The Deputy Managing Director of Arik, Capt. Ado Sanusi who received the governor assured him that the airline would soon increase the number of flights on the Kaduna route.

He said the challenge facing the airlines is infrastructural decay at most of the airports, saying government should provide landing aids for aircraft to land at nights.