FIC Report (Enugu State) – The Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo has inaugurated the Enugu state -owned commercial airline, ”Enugu Air”, with a charge on the management of the Airline to run the Airline professionally, embrace Public private partnership, adding that they should not allow bureaucracy to kill Enugu Air.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony which witnessed the arrival of one of the three Enugu state-owned Aircrafts which touched the runway of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport ,Enugu at 12:27 pm, with the inscription, Enugu Air 5N- ENU, the minister advised the operators saying, ” support private investors, run it professionally. Do not let bureaucracy to kill Enugu Air. Do not say my friends are coming, give them free tickets. There is nothing like free ticket
“Please do not allow this airline go down the ways of Nigeria Airways. Run it professionally. Do not allow bureaucracy to kill Enugu Air. Be brunt in your departure, be brunt in your arrival.
To the CEO of Enugu Air, he said, ”run it professionally. Do not employ favouritism. Enugu people, if you want it to survive, support the airline. It has been made available. Enugu will be a bigger international hub now and we are going to approve regional operation from here to African States. Bring your letter tomorrow we will approve it”.
Giving a brief information about the journey to getting the airline in place successfully, the minister said: “Governor Peter Mbah was the first governor that visited me immediately I was sworn in as a Minister.. Dr. Peter Mbah was coming to Abuja almost every week to press the button to make sure that a couple of things happened so, when we told him the process of an AOC, because before you start an airline, you must have an Air Operating Certificate, AOC. Sometimes it gets two years to get your own AOC to operate, to start an airline because you have to go through so many procedures to get your own AOC.
“He said no, I will not wait for two years. I will go and partner with someone who already has an AOC to enable us start immediately. I said ok, if that is what you want to do, we will support you because it is part of our rules that you can partner with anybody to start an airline with anybody with an existing AOC. So, he approached XE Jet, we approved it and all of a sudden he went round, acquired the aircrafts and here is the spirit and you have done well for Enugu State. You are one of the best performing governors, “Keyamo said.
In his speech, the Governor of Enugu state, Dr. Peter Mbah said the launch of Enugu Air’s inaugural flight feels like a fitting mid-term gift to Ndi Enugu.
He thanked President Bola Tinubu for his support, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, the DG of NCAA, Capt. Chris Najomo, the MD/CEO of NAMA Ahmed Umar Farouk, and the MD of FAAN Mrs Bunmi Kuku, for their remarkable support.
Speaking about the partners, Gov Mbah said: “Our chosen operator, XEJet Airlines, is a 100% Nigerian-owned entity with a solid record of reliable, sustainable, and successful aviation operations.
“This is more than just infrastructure. It is an economic enabler, a job creator and a strategic platform for Enugu’s emergence as a regional hub for the South East, Nigeria and beyond. We’re starting off with three Embraer aircraft – efficient elegant birds made for our terrain. Our routes begin with a powerful golden triangle: Enugu to Abuja to Lagos. From there, we stretch our wings to Port Harcourt, Owerri, Benin, Kano, and across various other cities. But we are not stopping there.”
”In the next phase, we will fly beyond Nigeria, into other African countries, China, Europe, UK, US, and other global business hubs.
Signed
Bonaventure Ngwu,
HOC, FIC Enugu
(08-07-2025).
