Rano Air, a new indigenous airline, made its inaugural landing at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two (MMA2), Ikeja, Lagos on Sunday.

The aircraft, an Embrier E145, is a 50-seater commercial aircraft that will be flying between Lagos and Abuja, Kano, Maiduguri and Sokoto. On this flight, 35 passengers from Kano State were conveyed and disembarked at MMA2.

The aircraft made an immediate turnaround to Kano with 45 passengers.

Moses Egbekun, the pilot, looked excited at the warm reception put together by the management of Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited, jointly led by Tosan Duncan, its acting Chief Operating Officer, and Head of Operations, Blessing Ewah.

Read also: AI chatbots is transforming customer service and meeting increased customer expectation

“The plane is so new. The flight was so smooth. We hope this luxurious experience can be sustained,” one of the passengers, who wishes to remain anonymous, said to the waiting crowd.

As a tradition, the aircraft on arrival at the MMA2 Apron was greeted with a water cannon, a symbolic act that could be interpreted as a welcoming blessing for safety of flight operations, and an act of baptism into the trade.

Speaking on the development, Ewah, said the latest addition to fleets of airline companies plying their trade with MMA2, “is the manifestation of BASL’s commitment to upholding global best practices on providing a conducive environment for business, comfort, safety, and security of airlines, passengers, vendors, and other terminal users.

“This is a further validation of our success in the construction and management of airport infrastructure, making it a safe zone for airlines to do their business and serve the flying public,” he added.

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.

Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date

Open In Whatsapp