Victor Attah International Airport , is an airport serving Uyo, the capital city of

Akwa Ibom State Akwa Ibom is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South, South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It borders Cross River State to the east, Rivers State and Abia State to the west and north-west, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. The state ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. The airport is

Southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, ...

of Uyo, and

northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...

of the river port of Oron. The Akwa Ibom non-directional beacon (Ident: AI) and Uyo VOR-DME (Ident: AKW) are located on the field. The first phase of airport construction began in 2006 and was completed in the year 2009. Akwa Ibom Airport opened on September 23, 2009, and the first scheduled passenger service commenced on December 2, 2009, when Arik Air began offering flights to

Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...

and

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

. The second construction phase began in May 2012, and included the completion of a maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility, the construction of an international terminal, and additional taxiways. The airport was renamed after former Governor Obong Victor Attah by Governor Udom Emmanuel at a

Banquet A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes inc ...

to honor the 80th birthday of Obong Attah on 24 November 2018, the airport which was previously named Akwa Ibom International Airport has now been renamed to Victor Attah International Airport.

Airlines and destinations

The airport also serves as the hub for CRJ-900 operator, Ibom Air. Ibom Air is a state-owned carrier based at Victor Attah International Airport. The carrier operates regional services to destinations in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, using CRJ900

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

. The airline is wholly owned and operated by Akwa Ibom State Government. Ibom Air launched its maiden flight on 7 June 2019. The event was graced by the deputy governor, Moses Ekpo in company of other Akwa Ibomites. A Bombardier CRJ 900 Series with registration number 5N-BWM took off by 12pm for the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. Ibom Air took delivery of its first set of aircraft in the form of two Bombardier CRJ-900s. The Akwa Ibom State Government took delivery of the fourth

in the fleet of Ibom Air on 19 May 2020. The Airline then took over two Airbus A220-300s from Air Sinai with an order for ten more to be delivered directly from Airbus. Ibom Air now has seven aircraft in its fleet.

Infrastructure

MRO

Akwa Ibom International Airport has a constructed Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul facility capable of handling aircraft maintenance and overhauling heavy commercial aircraft. The facility can conduct the A, B, C and D check. The facility, specifically designed for the Boeing 747, can accommodate two Boeing 747-400 parked juxtaposed, nose-in, fully contained within the building. The facility equipment, arrangement, clearance and supporting workshops allow flexibility for servicing a wide range of commercial aircraft.

Runways

The airport has a 3.6 km runway with designation 03/21.

Operational facilities

The airport has a category 9 aircraft rescue and fire-fighting facility, a category II instrument landing system, an air traffic control tower, a technical and administrative building, an emergency operating centre, an aviation fuel farm, a health clinic, police station,

perimeter A perimeter is the length of a closed boundary that encompasses, surrounds, or outlines either a two-dimensional shape or a one-dimensional line. The perimeter of a circle or an ellipse is called its circumference. Calculating the perimet ...

roads and

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Future expansion and plans

Akwa Ibom International Airport has expansion plans. There are plans to build a cargo terminal with an accompanying apron, a permanent international passenger terminal building, a 3 to 5-star airport hotel capable of handling 2 simultaneous cancelled flights and pilgrims destined for Jerusalem, an aviation training college and other aviation facilities. The permanent terminal will feature facilities for flexible dual use, such that it will serve both domestic and international flights. It will have arrival and departure halls for domestic and international flights with the routes split, which will be efficient for both passenger and baggage movement. While departing passengers arrive at an elevated forecourt and move down a ramp to a boarding aircraft, arriving passengers move downwards to

baggage Baggage, or luggage, consists of bags, cases, and containers which hold a traveler's personal articles while the traveler is in transit. A modern traveler can be expected to have packages containing clothing, toiletries, small possessions, tr ...

reclaim facilities.

Terminals

Terminal 1

Terminal 1 opened in September 2009 to cater to flights at the airport. The terminal has check-in facilities and a ticketing section for departing passengers. It is also equipped with full body scanners and a departure lounge; departing passengers at the lounge can relax at the light restaurant until boarding is announced. The terminal has a baggage reclaim facility for arriving passengers. Passport control and

customs Customs is an authority or Government agency, agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling International trade, the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out ...

are only available for international flights. The terminal serves Arik Air, Aero Contractors, Dana Air, Air Peace and

charter airlines Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flight ...

such as Sky Airlines, Atlasjet Airlines flying to

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

References

External links

OurAirports - Uyo
* {{authority control Airports in Nigeria Akwa Ibom State Buildings and structures in Uyo