Aero Contractors has begun scheduled flights at Asaba Airport with Lagos and Abuja as the initial routes.
The new operation brings to three the number of airlines operating flights from Asaba as Overland and Arik had been on the route since the airport was opened for commercial services on July 13, 2011.
According to the flight schedule issued by Aero yesterday, daily operations into Asaba begin from Abuja at 10.10a.m. and depart for Lagos at 11.45a.m.
The return flight from Lagos departs for Asaba at 14.45p.m. while the Abuja flight leaves at 16.20p.m.
The entrance of Aero reinforces the status of Asaba Airport as one of the busiest and most viable in the country.
After commencing commercial flight operations on July 13, 2011, Asaba Airport had handled 6,331 flights and 192,651 passengers at the end of October 2013.
This is aside from the 18 flights and 63 passengers handled before commercial flights began, bringing total operational results to 6,349 flights and 192,714 passengers.
Delta State Commissioner for Information, Chike Ogeah, speaking on the entrance of Aero into Asaba, said the dream of Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, of building a hub in Asaba was on track and coming to fruition.
“It is still early days in terms of the number of airlines and the destinations being services. More routes will be opened as more airlines join the Asaba operations. More importantly, this development underscores the state of navigational facilities at the airport as being world class. The equipment installed at the airport underwent rigorous screening and evaluation from all the relevant safety agencies, including the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), National Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and other agencies,” Ogeah stated.
He said equipment for night flights are being acquired ahead of the commencement of operations at the cargo section of the airport. According to him, direct flights to Europe and other parts of the world for the export of goods are expected to begin from Asaba in the near future.
