Nigeria’s Ibom Air eyes domestic expansion

Nigeria’s Ibom Air (QI, Uyo) may soon add the newly inaugurated Bayelsa International Airport to its domestic route network after the Bayelsa state government approached their neighbours, the oil-rich state of Akwa Ibom, which owns the airline, over partnership possibilities. The two Nigerian states have initiated discussions aimed at Ibom Air providing Bayelsa with connections to Lagos and Abuja, both high-traffic routes, using one of its 50-seater CRJ900LRs. This emerged following a recent official visit by a delegation from the Bayelsa regional government to Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa deputy governor Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo said in a statement. The choice of the airline to serve Bayelsa was informed by Akwa Ibom’s proximity and good relations between the states, both located in the coastal southern part of the country, according to Ewhrudjakpo, who led the visiting delegation. Ewhrudjakpo, in a statement, expressed optimism that a partnership deal would soon be sealed for the airline to commence flights to and from Bayelsa to Lagos and Abuja. “We are here to discuss how we can have a mutually beneficial partnership with your airline, Ibom Air. Our target is any of your aircraft that has the capacity of about 50 seats because we don’t want to start too big,” he said. Describing the process of acquiring the necessary licences as a lengthy process, he added that the Bayelsa government also intended to engage with other airlines shortly but gave no further details. Based at Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom, Ibom Air currently serves Lagos, Abuja, Enugu, and Calabar with a fleet of five CRJ900LRs leased from Avmax Aircraft Leasing and Falko Regional Aircraft, according to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module. As previously reported, the airline also has ambitions to add A220-300s to its fleet to expand to the regional West African market.