The Akwa Ibom Government says it is considering subsidising commercial flights to keep its airport busy.
Mr Etido Inyang, the Special Adviser to Gov. Godswill Akpabio on Technical Matters, disclosed this to newsmen on Thursday at the Akwa Ibom International Airport.
“It is mandatory for any flight operator not to run at a loss, and we are now looking at the state government subsidising initially to stabilise operations at the airport,” he said.
Inyang who spoke shortly before the landing of the first commercial flight to the airport said that the Airport Implementation Committee had already written to operators of Aero, Virgin Nigeria and Chanchangi airlines.
Inyang, who is also the secretary to the committee, said that apart from Arik Airlines which the state had a partnership with, Air France would also operate at the airport.
He said that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) had given approval for daytime operations at the airport, expressing hope that before next January, 24-hour flights would be available.
In a separate interview with newsmen, the Chairman of the Airport Implementaion Committee, Air Commodore Idongesit Nkanga (rtd), said that a total of 251 operations and engineering personnel had been trained for the full take-off of the airport.
“With the commencement of commercial flights today, the state will be a major contributor to Nigeria achieving its vision 20:2020,” he said.
Nkanga, a former Military Governor of the state and ex-Commander, Presidential Fleets, said that apart from the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities, the airport also had a thermo camera to monitor and detect any movement in the dark.
Newsday reports that work on the multi-billion naira airport was started by the immediate past administration of Obong Victor Attah with an American company, Dyncorp International, as the major contractor.
The current administration re-awarded the contract to ALCON Nig. Ltd at the cost of $152.5 million, when it discovered that Dyncorp International had abandoned the project and left the country.
