The airport manager of Osubi Airport in Warri, Delta State, Winston Ifeacho Egwuatu, has said that the airport’s runway size is a significant challenge limiting the number of airlines operating into the airport.
According to Egwuatu, “The size of the runway has kept several airlines away from the airport.”
The runway, which is 2.1 kilometers long, has a setback of 150 meters at both ends, reducing the available landing space to 1.8 kilometers. Egwuatu explained, “What is available for landing is 1.8 kilometers.”
Egwuatu who spoke during a ceremony to celebrate Overland Airways flight resumption into Warri, said this limitation has forced airlines to operate with smaller aircraft, which in turn has limited the number of airlines that can fly into the airport.
Egwuatu noted that some interested airlines do not have aircraft that can be accommodated on the runway, making it difficult for them to operate into the airport. “Some of the airlines interested in operating into the route do not have the aircraft size that can be accommodated at the airport,” he said.
However, there is hope on the horizon, as Egwuatu assured that Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, has commenced plans to expand the airport runway to allow more airlines to operate into the airport.
“The minister is already working. There’s already a structure in place, and I also want to believe that there is already even a budget. The only thing they are trying to do is resolve the ownership structure of the airport so that the federal government can rightly bring in money to do the needful” he added.
The expansion of the runway is expected to have a significant impact on the airport’s operations. Egwuatu projected, “There will be a lot of activities here. Number one, more airlines can come in because everybody will come in with whatever size of aircraft they have. It will also force down the fare price.”
He also noted that the Osubi route is currently the highest paying route in the country.
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