Ibom Air Plans to Launch International Service
Ibom Air, which is owned by Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria, is one of the drivers of the state’s growth and one of the most successful, professionally managed enterprises in the region.
Ekpo did not provide any further details about the plans to launch international flights but hinted that the carrier would be getting more than one new aircraft in the coming months. The Nigerian state government will also support the airline’s capital ahead of its relaunch given the NGN4 billion naira (USD11.1 million) in losses it has incurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its ensuing grounding for the past three months.
According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, Ibom Air, which launched in mid-2019, currently operates four CRJ900LRs. It connects Uyo with Abidjan and Lagos, as well as the two main Nigerian cities with each other.
Uyo does not currently see any international scheduled services. For its part, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, Malabo, does not see any services to Nigeria, despite being just 140 kilometres from Ibom State.
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Unless there is a new change, Equatorial Guinea should be one of Ibom Air's top international destinations. In any case, this was revealed by the governor of the Nigerian state of Akwa Ibom last Thursday, June 11, 2020. "We will diversify our routes, and also think about the route to Equatorial Guinea," said Moses Ekpo, of the Nigerian daily newspaper The Sun. An affirmation which confirms the sub regional expansion plan recently unveiled by the aforementioned secretary of state last January.
In remarks reported by the Nigerian newspaper Vanguard, Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem announced the opening, before the end of the year if possible, of routes from Abuja, Lagos or Uyo, bound for Douala. This should, in principle, make the Cameroonian economic capital the first international destination of the air carrier.
The state-owned Akwa Ibom state-owned company plans to acquire new aircraft "within a few months" as part of its network expansion. The air carrier took delivery of its fourth Bombardier CRJ 900 (the only aircraft segment it has) on May 5.
Currently, it serves Lagos and Abuja, departing from Uyo’s Victor Attah International Airport. Operations suspended for months, due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
