Ibom Air to begin international flights April 2026

Ibom Air is set to commence international flight operations in April 2026, as preparations at the Victor Attah International Airport, Uyo, near completion, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has said.

Keyamo spoke on Wednesday after inspecting facilities at the airport alongside Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, during a meeting with agencies involved in international airport operations.

The minister said the state had gone ahead of schedule in preparing the airport for international flights, expressing satisfaction with the standard of facilities and the level of readiness recorded so far.

He said, “Having heard from all the agencies involved in an International Airport ecosystem, they were all here with us, and we held a closed-door meeting.

“From the Customs to Quarantine, the Nigeria Immigration Service, NDLEA, Police, DSS, to NEMA and all aviation agencies.

“From all we have heard, Akwa Ibom State is ahead of the plan scheduled.

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“We thought the gaps to be closed would be much, but they are virtually very small gaps. Akwa Ibom state has gone ahead of schedule to a full-blown International Airport.”

He listed facilities inspected to include a newly constructed international terminal and a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul facility, which he described as a key requirement for international airport operations.

“This facility we are seeing here is the MRO, which means all international airlines coming here have a facility where they can conduct routine checks before they fly out again.

“It is one of the standard requirements of any International Airport,” he said.

In his remarks, Eno thanked the minister for what he described as his passion and commitment to ensuring that aviation infrastructure is properly utilised for national economic growth.

The governor also expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for approving the upgrade of the Victor Attah International Airport to international status and for releasing statutory funds for its development.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.