The planned opening on 3 May 2021 of International flights to Enugu airport remains uncertain as the lone carrier flying the route remains mom.

Ethiopian Airlines, the international airline, is yet to open its booking portal to passengers, Enugu Metro can authoritatively report.

Our search on the airline’s portal shows that there are no scheduled flight to and from Enugu for this year.

The lone international flight operator to  Enugu is also not selling tickets at its counters.

Travel agencies interviewed by our reporters say they are waiting for greenlight from the airline before selling tickets to passengers.

The lingering uncertainty has triggered conspiracy theories against the federal aviation Ministry on the airport reopening.

One of the theories suggests that Ethiopia Airline has threatened to stop its operations at Enugu International Airport because of discriminatory tax imposed on them by Nigeria Government. It is a story that looks very unlikely, as it is not mentioned by the airline in any of its public communication.

Aviation Minister, Sen. Hadi Sirika, has announced that international flights will resume at Enugu Airport from 3 May, barely 16 days away today.

The Minister had also denied claims that there was a motive behind the continued shut down of the airport to international traffic.

“There were no ulterior motives for not reopening the … other airports. There are processes to be followed,” he said.

“The airports were shut down, like others across the world. We closed our airports as that was where the virus came into the country. “We reopened some after many considerations with the other stakeholders.”

The runway of the Enugu airport, also known as the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, was refurbished with the sum of N10billion and reopened to domestic traffic last year.

Federal authorities had claimed then that the airport runway and other landing equipment installed makes the facility one of the best in the country.

Author

  • Ogbuagu Bob Anikwe, a veteran journalist and message development specialist, is now a community journalism advocate and publisher of Enugu Metro. Contact him on any of the channels below.

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