A’Ibom buys new aircraft, plans aviation village

The Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, on Tuesday officially received the new Airbus A220-300 aircraft for the Ibom Air.

This was as he announced plans for an Aviation Village near the Victor Attah International Airport.

Speaking at the airport during a brief ceremony to receive a new A220-300 series aircraft for the state-owned Ibom Air, the governor said the growth and expansion of Ibom Air was worth celebrating and enjoined all Akwa Ibomites to always remain grateful to God for the airline.

He emphasised the need to always show gratitude, saying, “We will always gather to celebrate growth, hard work, commitment, and dedication because Ibom Air is the pride of Akwa Ibom State.”

“As part of our efforts to expand the aviation ecosystem in Akwa Ibom, we will, in the next few weeks, flag off the construction of the Aviation Village, an estate that will accommodate aviation workers because they need to reside near the airport as we are planning to operate 24 hours.

“The housing estate will come with schools, hospitals, and other amenities so that all of our aviation staff will live close to the airport.”

Reflecting on the success story of the airline since its inception five years ago, r Eno said, “Ibom Air remains a model of how best government should run business, and we will soon use the same model in the state-owned Specialist Hospital.”

In line with his promise to ‘connect the dots’ and put the facilities to rapid use, the governor promised that “We are working towards ensuring the completion of the Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul hangar, as well as the new international terminal building.”

He paid glowing tributes to his predecessor, Udom Emmanuel, for his resilience in establishing the airline, despite the barrage of criticisms that trailed the vision.

“He received a lot of attacks, like we are receiving now in some of the strategic projects we are bringing to the state. But he (Udom Emmanuel) was focused and undaunted. Today, even the worst critics of this airline, I see them on this airline,” Eno said.