Nigeria’s Ibom Air to add ex-Air Sinai A220s

The fate of two A220-300s once operated by EgyptAir’s purpose-built subsidiary for Tel Aviv Ben Gurion flights, Air Sinai (4D, Cairo Int’l), has become clearer after Nigerian media disclosed that they would operate for Ibom Air (QI, Uyo). Chief Commercial Officer George Uriesi told media that both aircraft would be delivered in the coming days, possibly by the end of May. Photos published by the aviation news website Nigerian FlightDeck showed that the first of the pair, SU-GFA (msn 55061), was already repainted in Ibom Air’s livery. The Airbus Canada jet remains at Cairo Int’l, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows. The photos show that it continues to be registered in Egypt. It is unclear if Ibom Air will take over the aircraft on dry lease or wet lease them from EgyptAir. The Nigerian carrier did not respond to ch-aviation’s request for comment, while EgyptAir said that a decision had not yet been made. SU-GFA is a 1.6-year-old aircraft owned by EgyptAir. Until recently, it was wet-leased to Air Sinai, whose only purpose was to operate scheduled flights between Cairo and Tel Aviv. However, EgyptAir has recently decided to take the route in-house, thus rendering Air Sinai purposeless. The carrier did not respond to ch-aviation’s question of whether the subsidiary would be liquidated in light of the developments. The other A220-300 operated for Air Sinai was SU-GFD (msn 55062). It has been stored at Cairo airport since May 9, too. Both A220s operated for Air Sinai in all-white livery to avoid politically inconvenient associations with EgyptAir. However, they were also used by the mainline on routes other than to Tel Aviv. EgyptAir operates twelve owned A220-300s in total. Ibom Air’s in-house fleet currently comprises five CRJ900LRs.