Ibom Air to expand its fleet and launch its first international services, to Equatorial Guinea, “in the next couple of months”, deputy governor of Ibom State Moses Ekpo says.
Ibom Air, which is owned by Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria, is one of the drivers of the state’s growth and one of the most successful, professionally managed enterprises in the region.
Ekpo did not provide any further details about the plans to launch international flights but hinted that the carrier would be getting more than one new aircraft in the coming months.
The Nigerian state government will also support the airline’s capital ahead of its relaunch given the NGN4 billion naira (USD11.1 million) in losses it has incurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its ensuing grounding for the past three months.
According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, Ibom Air, which launched in mid-2019, currently operates four CRJ900LRs. It connects Uyo with Abidjan and Lagos, as well as the two main Nigerian cities with each other.
Uyo does not currently see any international scheduled services. For its part, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, Malabo, does not see any services to Nigeria, despite being just 140 kilometres from Ibom State.
