Ethiopian Airlines to resume Enugu flights October — two years after suspension

Ethiopian Airlines says it will resume flights to Enugu state on October 1, more than two years after suspending operations due to airport repairs.

Shimeles Arage, the airline’s general manager, disclosed the planned resumption in a statement on Sunday, according to NAN.

He said the flights would operate on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays of every week, with Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

“Oct. 1 is Nigeria’s Independence Day, and the flight to Enugu on that day will reinforce Ethiopian Airlines’ good relations with Nigeria since the first flight to Nigeria in 1960,” he said.

Arage explained the airline suspended flights to the state in 2019 when the federal government closed the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, to refurbish the runway.

“Before the closure of the airport for runway repairs, Ethiopian was the only international airline flying to Enugu,” he added.

The airport was officially re-opened to domestic flights in 2020 and to international flights in August 2021.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had closed the airport’s runway on August 24 after President Muhammadu Buhari approved N10 billion intervention fund for the project.

Last week, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) said the Enugu international airport is undergoing certification process.

According to the agency, all international airports will go through certification and recertification processes.