"Ebonyi Airport is fully operational, not abandoned"—Project Coordinator

The Project Coordinator of the Sen. Chuba Okadigbo Airport, Onueke, in Ebonyi, Mr. Frank Ngwu, has said that the airport is fully operational and not abandoned as insinuated in the social media.

Ngwu made the assertion in an interview while reacting to insinuations on social media that the airport is non-operational and has been turned into a ‘motor park’.

Ngwu said that it was the viability of the airport that made the Federal Government take over the facility, with necessary processes in progress.

“It is difficult to see a newly inaugurated airport in Nigeria recording the same volume of passenger operations as ours.

“It would have taken other airports more than six months to be operational, but ours has gone full swing since it was tested less than two months ago,” he said.

The project coordinator revealed that flight activities are recorded daily at the airport, as three aircraft conveyed passengers ‘to and from’ Abuja and Lagos on Monday.

We, however, solicit patience from Nigerians because a journey of miles starts with a step.

“We are deepening our passenger base with the commercial flight aspect steadily undergoing development.

“We have signed several Memoranda of Understanding with corporate organizations to boost our commercial flight and cargo operations, and the dividends will start yielding soon,” he said.

He described the insinuations as “fabricated figments” of people who are still awed that Ebonyi will have an airport of such standard.

The correspondent who visited the airport reports that the atmosphere was serene, with staff attending to the needs of passengers.

The environment was neat, and facilities were well maintained, though flight activities went on a low scale.

A staff member of the airport, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, expressed optimism that it would soon compete with others across the country on flight operations.

“You can see that there is no motor park activity around this facility as a United Nigeria flight is being expected from Lagos with passengers inside its bowels,” he said.

Mrs. Jane Ifemenam, a passenger,said that she was impressed with the facilities at the airport and urged its authorities to expedite action in attracting more passengers.

“I am waiting to board a United Nigeria flight to Lagos and wish to state that there is room for improvement,” he said.