Udom Emmanuel boosts Ibom Air fleet to five, plans more aircraft

The government of Akwa Ibom has announced the arrival of two new aircraft which will be ready for commissioning before the end of the month.

With the arrival of the two, fleet number will rise to five to make the airline only state airline with the highest fleet.

In an interview in Uyo, the state capital, Chairman of Ibom Air, Air Commodore Idongesit Nkanga (retd), explained that the state government had invested heavily in the aviation sector as an alternative means of boosting its internally generated revenue.

The former military administrator of the state added that the state was targeting 10 more aircraft before 2023 ending, stressing that “the coming of Ibom Air had hugely improved the economic fortune of the state.”

According to him, Since the Ibom Air started operations some months ago, it had recorded over 3,000 flights, adding that its routes had been increased.

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“Within these months, we will have five aircraft. Towards the end of last year, we were expecting to add about two more aircraft to the existing three. We did that because we were approaching the Yuletide and we expected more people to travel. But there was a little delay.

“Additional two aircraft are arriving this January. We have operated about 3,000 flights. We have increased our routes, because when we first started, it was Uyo to Lagos and Uyo to Abuja. We have since added Abuja to Lagos and Lagos to Abuja,” he stated.

The former Military Administrator of the State made it clear that “Before 2022, we should expand our domestic, regional and international routes.”