The airport manager of Osubi Airport in Warri, Delta State, Winston Egwuatu, has disclosed that the local airlines are avoiding the airport because of its runway size.
Speaking during a ceremony to celebrate Overland Airways flight resumption into Warri, the airport manager said the size of the runway is a significant challenge limiting the number of airlines operating in the airport.
According to Egwuatu, “The size of the runway has kept several airlines away from the airport.”
The runway, which is 2.1 kilometres long, has a setback of 150 meters at both ends, reducing the available landing space to 1.8 kilometres. Egwuatu explained, “What is available for landing is 1.8 kilometres.”
Egwuatu who spoke during a ceremony to celebrate Overland Airways flight resumption into Warri, said this limitation has forced airlines to operate with smaller aircraft, which in turn has limited the number of airlines that can fly into the airport.
Egwuatu noted that some interested airlines do not have aircraft that can be accommodated on the runway, making it difficult for them to operate at the airport. “Some of the airlines interested in operating into the route do not have the aircraft size that can be accommodated at the airport,” he said.
However, there is hope on the horizon, as Egwuatu assured that Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, has commenced plans to expand the airport runway to allow more airlines to operate in the airport.
Egwuatu revealed, “The minister is already working. There’s already a structure in place, and I also want to believe that there is already even a budget. The only thing they are trying to do is resolve the ownership structure of the airport so that the federal government can rightly bring in money to do the needful.”
The expansion of the runway is expected to have a significant impact on the airport’s operations.
Egwuatu projected, “There will be a lot of activities here. Number one, more airlines can come in because everybody will come in with whatever size of aircraft they have.
It will also force down the fare price.”
He also noted that the Osubi route is currently the highest-paying route in the country.
The history of the airport is also worth noting. According to Egwuatu, the airport was initially built for private use by the oil industry, specifically Shell, and was not designed for commercial flight operations.
“They were not entertaining any commercial flight operations,” he said. However, with the changing times, the airport has been converted to a commercial airport, and there is now a need for expansion to accommodate the growing demand, he said.
Egwuatu said he is optimistic that new airlines would soon start operating in the airport.
“Overland and Rano Air are already on board, and UMZA is expected to join them in the first week of June,” he revealed.
Also speaking at the event, the chief operating officer of Overland Airways, Aderonke Emmanuel-James, said: “Overland Airways resumption of flight services to Warri is in response to the yearnings of our customers for reliable air transport to connect the city and its environs with Abuja and Lagos.
Emmanuel-James assured that the flight will support important economic and social linkages between the people of Delta State and other parts of Nigeria.
“Passengers on the Warri service can connect seamlessly across our network to destinations in Northern and Southwestern Nigeria. To fully support this aspiration, we are deploying on the route our brand-new Embraer E-175 jet aircraft which features Premium and Economy Class cabins,” she said.
She assured that Overland Airways expanding route network has seen the restoration of flight services from Lagos and Abuja to Jalingo, Taraba State, and the commencement of new services from Lagos and Abuja to Minna, Niger State.
“The Warri route is the latest route while plans are afoot to launch other routes in the months ahead,” she added.
