- Ethiopia Airlines now flies to Port Harcourt
Following the closure of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu for repairs, the Enugu State Government has disclosed its plan to provide palliative measures for air travellers from the state, who now travel through Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport, Owerri, Imo State and Asaba Airport in Delta State, to get to their various destinations.
Also, following the closure of the airport, Ethiopia Airlines, which is the only international carrier that flies to the Coal City would now operate to the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa.
A statement by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Simon Uchenna Ortuanya, stated that the government was deeply concerned about the plight of the air travelers from the state, especially the challenges of transportation and security.
The state government, therefore, disclosed that it will announce its palliative measures and strategies to cushion the effect of the challenges on the air travelers, after the meeting of the South East Governors Forum this Saturday, where the governors will, among other issues, deliberate on the challenges facing the air passengers and come up with a regional plan to be adopted.
Meanwhile, the Ethiopia Airlines, which is the only international carrier that flies to Enugu would now operate to the Port Harcourt International airport, Omagwa.
This was disclosed yesterday by the Chief Operating Officer of the airline, Mesfin Tasew who stated that the East African carrier would start operations to the new destination on September 3, 2019 and would return to Enugu after the rehabilitation of the airport.
Akanu Ibiam Airport, Enugu was shut down on August 24 for the reconstruction of the runway and installation of safety critical equipment, including airfield lighting, approach light and other essential facilities.
Tasew said Ethiopian Airlines was dedicated to serve the South East region; hence it plans to shift the Enugu flight to Port Harcourt airport, as many businessmen and women import their goods through the Eastern airport.
“We have planned to shift the Enugu flight to Port Harcourt and we will start operations on September 3. We will continue operating to this airport until Enugu airport becomes ready. When Enugu is ready, we will go back to Enugu,” he said.
Speaking on the patronage for Ethiopia Airlines’ Maintenance Repair Overhaul, (MRO) facility by Nigerian airlines, the COO said the airline has a huge maintenance capacity and some Nigerian airlines use its facility for aircraft repairs and maintenance.
“First of all, I will like to say that Ethiopian Airlines today has the largest MRO facility in Africa. We repair all Boeing models of aircraft except 747. We also repair the Airbus A350 aircraft, which is the newest Airbus aircraft and the Bombardier Q400 aircraft in Addis Ababa.
“We have six hangars and a very big engine shop. We have several component repair shops. We have been doing this for several decades now. Primarily, it was developed to support operations of Ethiopian Airlines but we are also supporting other African Airlines from different parts of Africa. Today we support several airlines including Asky in Togo and Arik Air in Nigeria,” he explained.
Tasew disclosed that an Arik Q400 aircraft is currently in Addis Ababa for C-check and Prior to that, the Ethiopian Airline repaired and maintained several aircraft from Nigeria airlines, including the defunct Air Nigeria, Chanchangi and Belview Airline aircraft and others.
He further disclosed that Ethiopian Airline deployed some of its engineers to support Arik Air.
“We have been looking for a dependable partner to join and establish an MRO facility in Nigeria. We had some discussions earlier with some companies including Aero Contractors but unfortunately, so far we have not agreed with any one. However, we are still looking for a partner,” he said.