Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport , also known as Imo State Airport, serves

Owerri Owerri ( , ) is the capital city of Imo State in Nigeria, set in the heart of Igboland. It is also the state's largest city, followed by Orlu, Nigeria, Orlu, Okigwe and Ohaji/Egbema. Owerri consists of three Local Government Areas of Nigeria, Loc ...

, the capital city of

Imo State Imo () is a States of Nigeria, state in the South East (Nigeria), South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by Anambra State, Rivers State to the west and south, and Abia State to the east. It takes its name from the Imo R ...

in southeastern

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, ...

. It is located in Ngor Okpala

Local Government Area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

, Imo State. The building of the airport commenced with the administration of the first civilian governor of the old Imo State (now, Imo, Abia and Southern Ebonyi states), Dee Sam Mbakwe, in 1983, from generous contributions of the indigenes and people of the state and throughout the Igbo land. While this is the first state-owned airport, it is the first community-driven airport project ever known, at least, in the West of Africa. The project also enjoyed immense support from successive Federal Military Governments especially under Navy Captain James N.J. Aneke, who saw to its completion, commissioning and operational commencement on 15 July 1994, under the late General

Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (; (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military dictator and statesman who ruled Nigeria with an iron fist as military head of state from 1993 following a palace coup d'état until his death in 1998. Abacha's seiz ...

. Other cities served by the airport are the commercial city of

Onitsha Onitsha ( or simply ''Ọ̀nị̀chà'') is a city on the eastern bank of the Niger River, in Anambra State, Nigeria. Onitsha along with various cities and towns in southern Anambra State, northern Imo State and neighboring Delta State on the we ...

, the automobile and manufacturing city of Nnewi in Anambra State, the industrial hub of Aba, Umuahia and Arochukwu in Abia State. Others are Okigwe, Oguta, and Orlu business districts in Imo State. The airport also serves some parts of Akwa Ibom and Cross River States in the

South South The South-South is one of the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. It designates both a geographic and political region of the country's eastern coast. It comprises six States of Nigeria, states – Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross-River State, Cross Ri ...

(southernmost part) of Nigeria. The airport is named after Sam Mbakwe, the first civilian governor of Imo State who started the project. As mentioned, it is the first state-government-built airport built from the support and contributions of indigenes of the state and the entire Igbo land. Navy Captain James N.J. Aneke, who was the military administrator of Imo State from 9 December 1993 to 22 August 1996, completed and commissioned the airport on 15 July 1994. It was later handed over to FAAN (Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria) to be managed by the federal government.

Facilities

The airport underwent upgrading in 2013-14 that covered its infrastructure and the communication equipment covering the airspace past Port Harcourt Airport as part of the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria (TRACON) project.Nigerian Airspace Management Agency - TRACON
/ref> The airport has night landing capabilities, but for most flights in non-international designated airports, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria restricts night operations except for passenger flights during pilgrimage (Hajj).

Airlines and destinations

Statistics

These data show the number of passengers' movements into the airport, according to the

Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) is a service organization statutorily charged to manage all Commercial Airports in Nigeria and provide service to both passenger and cargo airlines. Generally, to create conditions for the development ...

's Aviation Sector Summary Reports.

References

External links

OurAirports - OwerriSkyVector - Owerri
{{authority control Airports in Nigeria Imo State

Facilities

Airlines and destinations

Statistics

See also

References

External links