Ekiti Airport ready for full commercial operations — FG

• as Minister, Oyebanji laud Afe Babalola’s support

The federal government has declared that the Ekiti State Agro-Allied International Cargo Airport, Ado-Ekiti, is ready for full commercial operations.

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, disclosed this to newsmen on Tuesday in Ado-Ekiti shortly after inspecting facilities at the airport in the company of the state Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, and some top government officials.

Keyamo also disclosed that the airport is 99.5 percent completed, adding that full commercial operations will soon commence.

The minister revealed that the runway, which is of international standard, has an apron large enough to sufficiently park many 737 small-body aircraft, making it adequately comparable to airports in the developed world.

He commended the support and contributions of elder statesman, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, towards the completion of the airport.

The minister said, “As I mentioned yesterday (Monday), Ekiti Agro-Allied International Cargo Airport is 99.5 percent ready for full commercial operations. I am sure you have seen that we have gone around, the basic requirements for the takeoff of an airport are here: you have the fire station, the tower, navigational equipment already installed, all security equipment in place, the runway we have here is of international standard.

“You can also see how big the apron is; it can park many 737s with narrow bodies. A lot of narrow bodies can come here and anchor. So, as it is today, Ekiti is ready for the world.

“And the fact that the Governor has put a lot of passion and resources into this project since he came to office is a testament to his desire for its success. What is left is to ignite all regulatory agencies in aviation to give all the necessary approvals.

“I landed here to show the world that it’s now safe for landing, which is why Aviation 001 had to land here. It’s a testament to my confidence in the facilities here for public use. The commercial airlines will start coming in anytime from now.”

Governor Oyebanji expressed appreciation to the Aviation Minister, Babalola, and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for making the dreams of the founding fathers and the entire Ekiti people a reality with their unwavering support towards the completion of the airport project.

The Governor while highlighting the current status of the airport, noted the alignment of vision between the immediate past Governor of the state, Dr Kayode Fayemi, who started the project, and the current administration, saying, “The airport is part of the numerous gains of continuity.”

He stated further that the state economy stands to benefit a lot from the project as jobs will be created through agriculture, commerce, and tourism, as well as added value to properties in the area because of the anticipated inflow of traffic.

According to him “Now that the Honourable Minister has landed here, it is a stamp of authority that the airport is ready for non-scheduled flights. So, anybody that has a chartered flight can fly into this place without any fear, and very soon commercial flight operations will commence.

“It is a dual-purpose airport; it’s going to serve agro-allied products as well as commercial passengers.”

The Minister, who came in on Monday, departed the airport on Tuesday evening through the same aircraft that brought him in on Monday just after the inspection.