If there is one state that knows the game of aviation business and its playing it well in Nigeria, that state is Akwa Ibom.
Over the years right from the time of Architect Obong Victor Attah as the governor, Akwa Ibom has been able to discover the importance of aviation as a tool towards a sustainable development of the state.
While other states were concentrating on erecting Airports that ended up becoming wasted ventures due to misplaced priorities, Akwa Ibom has been blessed with governors that have thorough visions for long terms projects that will not only put the state among the high hierarchy of formidable states not only in Nigeria but in the African subregion owing to the high and intellectual capacity of the governors that had and still managing the affairs of the state.
Talking about a state that absolutely believes in the spirit of continuity, that state is Akwa Ibom where all the civilian governors that had served the state including the present one have continued to imbibe the spirit of progression as each of them formed the habits of continuing from where their predecessors stopped on projects that have the potential of further developing the state and make live easier for its citizens.
This is what is playing out in the manner the subsequent state governments have concentrated their focus on making the business of aviation pivotal to the development of the state.
That is why over the years, Akwa Ibom State has become the only state that has embraced a tripod approach towards making Aviation a top revenue generation to the state through investments in Ibom Air, a world class African regional airline, the only aircraft Maintenance, Repairs and Overhaul (MRO) standard facilities which is the first of its kind in West Africa and the third being the smart Victor Attah international airport terminal that is said to be an aviation game changer in Nigeria.
The ability of the state to marry the three major components of air transport has caught the attentions of the international aviation bodies as witnessed in the ongoing of Ibom Air with Airbus consulting to come and assess the MRO facility and help develop a business plan for optimal use of this facility.
These feats are traceable to the goodwill the government is willing to give to the highly professional officials in charge of the airline, the MRO and the airport itself engaged to push the tripod mission through without unnecessary interferences.
For a first time visitor to the MRO facilities at Uyo airport, the first thing to behold is the quality that can make it compete with international standard and become a money spinner not only to the state but the entire country as the state said its target is to become part of the Big Four in Africa among which are the MRO of South African Airways, the MRO of Ethiopian Airlines in Addis Ababa, and the facility of Egypt Air in Cairo.
The state MRO is massive and can take two Boeing 747-800 standing side by side with the doors closed. In the same vein, it can take eight of our aircraft type, Airbus A220 at once and 10 of our other aircraft type, CRJ900.
The airport on its own is gradually enjoying a high volume of passengers and aircraft traffic because of the available facilities installed there for safe and seamless flight operations.
The icing on the cake of this transformation is the birth of Ibom Air, an airline established to compliment the existence of the MRO and the airport. It takes an absolute right thinking government and thorough professionals in the field to be able to marry these gigantic tripod business vision together which has opened up the state for greater exploration and development.
Presently, Ibom Air has carved a niche for itself as a darling of travelers in view of its on-time departure and arrival and the modern aircraft in its fleet.
The Chief Operating Officer of the airline, Mr George Uriesi recently described the Uyo airport smart international terminal as a game changer that has been built to do what no other airport terminals have done.
In his comparison, the Ibom Air COO said that despite the fact that Lomé is a small city in Togo, situating an airline there and working on a strategy similar to what the Akwa Ibom state government is doing with its tripod approach of aviation development, Asky has been able to develop Lome into a huge hub moving 1.2million passengers, of which less than 5 per cent were originating or terminating in Lomé.
His words: ”The new terminal brings the huge game changing reality to the industry in Nigeria. First of all, it is the first purpose built hub terminal specifically designed to move passengers from flight to flight. You can arrive from a domestic flight and connect to an international flight Also you can arrive from an international flight and connect to a domestic flight.
“Arrive at an international flight and connect to an international right on the same terminal under the same airport experience which is world class. It all adds to the joy of travelling that we have kind of lost in Nigeria because of the very poor airport experience that visitors to Nigeria have experienced through the other international terminals over time.
“With this terminal, if you want to go to Johannesburg, you book a flight like a domestic flight out of Abuja. You can fly into Uyo to connect to Johannesburg. The wow airport experience you will get will make you never want to go and fly out of any inconvenient airport. ”
On the reason for the establishment of Ibom Air, Uriesi remarked: “Our strategy to be able to build the world class African regional airline is our vision to provide a world class service such as passenger experience, the onboard experience of the passengers, the customer service element through buying of the ticket, the check-in, arrival, delivery of bags amongst others. We will develop a business plan, execute it and we believe that if we do that in a very disciplined manner under very strong corporate governance rules which we have practiced from the beginning, then there is no reason why we won’t be a successful and competitive international standard African regional airline.
Akwa Ibom knows the benefits of aviation business to the growth of the state and therefore using the best brains in the running of the tripod project not only for development but for seamless movements of goods and humans, job employments and opening of the state to other parts of the world. In not too distance, the tripod aviation project is a positive boom waiting to blow and when this happens the state may become the Geneva of Nigeria and even the entire African subregion.
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