Commercial flights operations resumed today in Makurdi through the Nigeria Air Force airport by Air Peace.
The flag-off ceremony took place at the Civil Wing of the Nigeria Air Force Makurdi Airport.
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony, Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, started that it took the State huge investment to facilitate for flight resumption in Makurdi.
He said: “It has been a long journey that has been in the making. In fact, it has taken us the better part of two years to meet the stringent regulatory requirements for the resumption of Commercial Aviation in our State.
“In the course of this journey, we have had extensive engagement with all the key players in the Aviation Industry, including the Federal Ministry of Aviation, Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigeria Airspace Management Authority (NAMA) and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET), amongst others.
Read Also: Supervisors of the worst elections in Nigeria’s history
“As a State Government, we have invested heavily in time, goodwill , and financial resources to help to meet the NCAA’s rigorous requirements for the resumption of Commercial Aviation services here.”
Ortom said part of State Government intervention for flight operations included “Procurement and provision of an NCAA-approved Digital Airport Rescue Fire Fighting (ARFF) vehicle, along with training, equipping and testing of over 50 Fire staff; provision of a state-of-the-art Ambulance and trained health personnel for Emergency Rescue Services.”
Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Allen Onyema who spoke through the Grounds Operations Manager of Air Peace, Ayodeji Adeyemi, commended Governor Ortom for the determined efforts towards ensuring the resumption of Air Peace operations in the State.
The Assistant General Manager Aerodromes of the NCAA, Mr. Sylvanus Dakup and Mrs. Comfort Ogbuagwu of FAAN in separate goodwill messages congratulated Governor Ortom for his commitment and the investment of the State Government towards meeting all safety requirements for the resumption of commercial flights at the Makurdi Airport.
Flight schedule is three days to and from Makurdi with the days as Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
