Delta State: Osubi Airstrip resumes flight operations
Osubi Airstrip located in Okpe Council Area of Delta State resumed flight operations Friday, after 17 months it was shut down.
An Air Peace aircraft was the first flight with 45 passengers from Lagos State touched down the Airstrip at about 8:40 a.m flew and took off shortly for Abuja, with 42 passengers.
The Orodje of Okpe, HRM Mujakperuo Orhue I and Ovie of Uvwie, HRM Emmanuel Sideso Abe I, with their traditional chiefs were on ground to witness the flight operation.
Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori lamented that the over one-year shutdown of the flight operations affected the economy of the host communities and the state at large.
Oborevwori said “For over a year it has been very hectic. The shutdown led to the stress of traveling to Benin Airport and other airports. And it has had a negative impact on the economy of these oil producing communities.”
He disclosed that the Delta State Government has donated an ambulance to the airport, while assuring that the needed safety measures, as well as that of COVID-19, have been put in place to ensure hitch-free operations.
The Osubi Airport manager, Mr. Winston Egwuatu, assured prospective passengers of the airport’s willingness to cater to their flight needs.
Egwuatu, stated that a new airline, United Nigeria Airline, will be joining Air Peace, Arik and Aero, which used to operate in the Airport.
According to him, the airport’s destinations are Lagos and Abuja, adding that “we intend to do other routes. We encourage the airliners to do other routes. The market is very large and the airport is viable. The business is here and we are ready for the business”.
Passengers who expressed excitement over the development after alighting from the Air Peace plane, include the founder of Flock of Christ Mission, Bishop Dr. Simeon Okah, Sir Happy Agbeyi and Maria Martins.
They posited that the flights resumption at the Osubi Airstrip would relieve travellers from the Warri axis of the pressure of more than an hour’s journey to Asaba or Benin in Edo State to catch flights.
The Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) is the new operator of the Osubi Airstrip, which runs chartered services and commercial flight services.
