Yemisi Izuora
Medview and Air Peace are set to begin flight operations to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja as the government is set to reopen the airport on Wednesday to air traffic.
Flights operations to the airport have been diverted to Kaduna airport since March 9, 2019, to facilitate rehabilitation work at the airport, which lasted six weeks.
A statement by the Chief Operating Officer (COO), of Medview airline, Lookman Animashaun said besides the six daily flights, the flights to Yola, Kano and Maiduguri will now be routed through Abuja, which he said has been the practice.
Animashaun revealed that the closure of Abuja Airport brought out the potentials of Kaduna International Airport making the airline to operate daily flight as against the three weekly flights before the boom.
“Kaduna has a lot of potentials, hence we decided to maintain a daily presence there”, the COO said.
Air Peace also commended the Federal Government for the extensive work carried out to improve the Kaduna International Airport.
A statement issued by the carrier’s Corporate Communications Manager, Mr. Chris Iwarah also commended air travellers for keeping faith with the airline and making a huge sacrifice to ensure repair of the bad portions of the runway of the Abuja airport.
The airline also praised the Federal Government and the Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika for ensuring speedy completion of the repair work on the runway of the facility.
“We are pleased to announce the resumption of all our flights into and out of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport with effect from Wednesday, April 19.
The Federal Government shut the facility to traffic on March 8 to enable a six-week repair of its runway and diverted all Abuja-bound flights to the Kaduna International Airport.
“We considered the decision of the Federal Government to shut down the airport for quick repair of its runway in tandem with the high safety standards of our flight operations. At Air Peace, the safety our esteemed guests are our first rule of business. We do not compromise on that for any reason.
“Although the decision to shut the facility to traffic came with huge costs, for us, nothing compares with safety. We are also aware that our numerous guests and the entire travelling public had to make a lot of sacrifices to enable the repair of the runway possible and wish to commend them for their understanding and cooperation.
“We also wish to express our sincere gratitude to the Federal Government, the Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika and the contractors for delivering on their promise to ensure completion of the repairs within schedule.
The repair of the runway has further intensified our enthusiasm to deliver the best flight experience to our valued guests in a very safe atmosphere. Our Abuja schedules are live once again and we promise to give the best of air travel services as we resume our flight operations in the Federal Capital Territory,” Air Peace said.