I stumbled on this article on Vanguard, titled "Aviation development: A rehash of old tunes". It was written on October 05, 2013. I reproduced below parts of the article relevant to the topic.

..............................
Otherwise, how else does one describe recent hoopla that greeted Ethiopian Airlines’, ET, foray into AkanuIbiam International Airport, Enugu, two weeks ago.

It should be noted that any government serious about the development of its aviation sector would not celebrate multiple entries for foreign airlines into its territories as doing that sets the tone for death of local airlines. And for an aviation sector that is as fledgling as Nigeria’s, the multiple entries granted foreign airlines by officials of the Aviation Ministry can best be described as debilitating for a struggling economy.

The implication of this is capital flight which, before now, had been put at close to N100 billion annually. So, the wild celebration that greeted ET flight into Enugu demonstrated the lack of capacity on the part of those drawing up policies for the aviation industry.

Enugu now makes Ethiopian Airlines’ third entry point into the country, after Lagos and Abuja. Other foreign airlines enjoy same approvals from the Aviation Ministry. This makes the aviation industry the worst bleeding spot for the country in terms of capital flight.

Ideally, local airlines are positioned to feed passengers for foreign airlines but now that the international airlines are indirectly carrying passengers to virtually every corner of the country, government’s talk about assisting domestic airlines to grow amounts to policy somersault. No sane country does it.

The entry of Ethiopian Airlines into Enugu is a negative development for domestic airlines. All we have done is to give way to kill the domestic carriers; we are killing the industry gradually.

They have also succeeded in killing operations into Port Harcourt, Owerri and Asaba, as the domestic airlines are supposed to feed passengers for foreign airlines to these airports. Politically, we have scored some good points but on the other hand, we are damaging the economy,” said Capt. Dele Ore, an ex-pilot.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/10/aviation-development-a-rehash-of-old-tunes-2/

Safety first, that is all we care for and not the increase in the number of international airports.

Peinstein: Safety first, that is all we care for and not the increase in the number of international airports.

Safety is a journey, not a destination. Safety can never be enough, you must continue to improve on what is on ground. However, safety and other aspects of aviation are not mutually exclusive. The sector has the capacity to pursue all the set goals, including safety, concurrently.

There is an ongoing ferocious attack and propaganda against the minister of aviation and all that she has achieved so far. The logic that opening up Enugu Airport to the outside world will kill the aviation sector is what I dont understand. The silly analysis obviously did not take into consideration the economic expansion in the region that will accompany the international Airport. With more economic expansion comes more traffic at both local and international Airports in the region. The argument that a whole region must be restricted to local flights just to encourage growth of the local airlines based in Lagos and Abuja is ridiculous, wicked and silly

Stupid.How can constructive competition kill off the national aviation industry? It can only boost it and make life easier for the people.Those that are competitive will remain in the game,after all ethiopia is an african country and if it is well with them,it filters down to the rest of africa.

Sincere 9gerian: There is an ongoing ferocious attack and propaganda against the minister of aviation and all that she has achieved so far. The logic that opening up Enugu Airport to the outside world will kill the aviation sector is what I dont understand. The silly analysis obviously did not take into consideration the economic expansion in the region that will accompany the international Airport. With more economic expansion comes more traffic at both local and international Airports in the region. The argument that a whole region must be restricted to local flights just to encourage growth of the local airlines based in Lagos and Abuja is ridiculous, wicked and silly

gbam!

For anyone too tired to read the OP: Basically what Captain Dele Ore is saying is that Enugu airport should revert back to a local airport, so local airlines can thrive by serving as the link between international passengers in the South East and Lagos/Abuja/Kano int'l airports! He would like us to revert back to what we had b/4 where int'l passengers from the South East would first have to get to Lagos, Abuja or Kano b/4 catching a flight out of the country....and vice-versa when they return; this he reckons would help local airlines get more business!

Nice one Dele!

The Dele dude seems to be singing from the same hymn sheet as Omotoba who didn't want Enugu airport upgraded to int'l status!

I read the junk up there, now I see why they've been holding the SE hostage. If other places are competitive, let them show their strength. This is why airport management should be private because private entities will harness their potential.

Simple. Let Akanu Ibiam International Airport be the entry point for all Southern Nigerians and from there, the yorubas can find their way back to wherever they are heading to and by so doing, yorubas can sustain local flights.

Igbos and other easterners/ south southerners have tried and sustained it for God knows how long. Let the yorubas give it a try.

Funny how the shoe hurts when it is on the other foot.

Sincere 9gerian: There is an ongoing ferocious attack and propaganda against the minister of aviation and all that she has achieved so far. The logic that opening up Enugu Airport to the outside world will kill the aviation sector is what I dont understand. The silly analysis obviously did not take into consideration the economic expansion in the region that will accompany the international Airport. With more economic expansion comes more traffic at both local and international Airports in the region. The argument that a whole region must be restricted to local flights just to encourage growth of the local airlines based in Lagos and Abuja is ridiculous, wicked and silly

That's what we see in this useless country nigeria.
I won't be surprised if any omo or alhaji enter power and closes that airport for some silliy reasons.

Wow at this junk article!

Sincere 9gerian: I stumbled on this article on Vanguard, titled "Aviation development: A rehash of old tunes". It was written on October 05, 2013. I reproduced below parts of the article relevant to the topic.

..............................
Otherwise, how else does one describe recent hoopla that greeted Ethiopian Airlines’, ET, foray into AkanuIbiam International Airport, Enugu, two weeks ago.

It should be noted that any government serious about the development of its aviation sector would not celebrate multiple entries for foreign airlines into its territories as doing that sets the tone for death of local airlines. And for an aviation sector that is as fledgling as Nigeria’s, the multiple entries granted foreign airlines by officials of the Aviation Ministry can best be described as debilitating for a struggling economy.

The implication of this is capital flight which, before now, had been put at close to N100 billion annually. So, the wild celebration that greeted ET flight into Enugu demonstrated the lack of capacity on the part of those drawing up policies for the aviation industry.

Enugu now makes Ethiopian Airlines’ third entry point into the country, after Lagos and Abuja. Other foreign airlines enjoy same approvals from the Aviation Ministry. This makes the aviation industry the worst bleeding spot for the country in terms of capital flight.

Ideally, local airlines are positioned to feed passengers for foreign airlines but now that the international airlines are indirectly carrying passengers to virtually every corner of the country, government’s talk about assisting domestic airlines to grow amounts to policy somersault. No sane country does it.

The entry of Ethiopian Airlines into Enugu is a negative development for domestic airlines. All we have done is to give way to kill the domestic carriers; we are killing the industry gradually.

They have also succeeded in killing operations into Port Harcourt, Owerri and Asaba, as the domestic airlines are supposed to feed passengers for foreign airlines to these airports. Politically, we have scored some good points but on the other hand, we are damaging the economy,” said Capt. Dele Ore, an ex-pilot.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/10/aviation-development-a-rehash-of-old-tunes-2/

This is a typical youroba reasoning, dey don't like competition, dey want FG to help them get everything and they will be the same people to tell u to go to ur village. Seriously I don't understand the kind of human beings those people are.

Bandit C.:
Simple. Let Akanu Ibiam International Airport be the entry point for all Southern Nigerians and from there, the yorubas can find their way back to wherever they are heading to and by so doing, yorubas can sustain local flights.

Igbos and other easterners/ south southerners have tried and sustained it for God knows how long. Let the yorubas give it a try.

Funny how the shoe hurts when it is on the other foot.

abi?

Sincere 9gerian: I stumbled on this article on Vanguard, titled "Aviation development: A rehash of old tunes". It was written on October 05, 2013. I reproduced below parts of the article relevant to the topic.

..............................
Otherwise, how else does one describe recent hoopla that greeted Ethiopian Airlines’, ET, foray into AkanuIbiam International Airport, Enugu, two weeks ago.

It should be noted that any government serious about the development of its aviation sector would not celebrate multiple entries for foreign airlines into its territories as doing that sets the tone for death of local airlines. And for an aviation sector that is as fledgling as Nigeria’s, the multiple entries granted foreign airlines by officials of the Aviation Ministry can best be described as debilitating for a struggling economy.

The implication of this is capital flight which, before now, had been put at close to N100 billion annually. So, the wild celebration that greeted ET flight into Enugu demonstrated the lack of capacity on the part of those drawing up policies for the aviation industry.

Enugu now makes Ethiopian Airlines’ third entry point into the country, after Lagos and Abuja. Other foreign airlines enjoy same approvals from the Aviation Ministry. This makes the aviation industry the worst bleeding spot for the country in terms of capital flight.

Ideally, local airlines are positioned to feed passengers for foreign airlines but now that the international airlines are indirectly carrying passengers to virtually every corner of the country, government’s talk about assisting domestic airlines to grow amounts to policy somersault. No sane country does it.

The entry of Ethiopian Airlines into Enugu is a negative development for domestic airlines. All we have done is to give way to kill the domestic carriers; we are killing the industry gradually.

They have also succeeded in killing operations into Port Harcourt, Owerri and Asaba, as the domestic airlines are supposed to feed passengers for foreign airlines to these airports. Politically, we have scored some good points but on the other hand, we are damaging the economy,” said Capt. Dele Ore, an ex-pilot.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/10/aviation-development-a-rehash-of-old-tunes-2/

Maybe the international airport in enugu is starting to effect the one in lagos, and this fool that calls himself a captian is talking trash.
U see the reason why come 2015 we need to support goodluck in mass,these north and south west especially wants nothing good to be had from the east and south south of nigeria.
Its unfortunate one is sharing a country with people that has this mentality

my ibo friends told me that yorubas hates ibos so much and I doubted it then he ask me to watch carefuly.
since then am sorry to say "they is right". too bad I regret to say
when I start reading the writeup my prayer is "let it not be written by a Yoruba", I don't want another prove of Yoruba hating ibos. but am wrong it is true.

why is it that before E-T fly to Enugu and after that most people commentin against it are yorubas why?
why is mrs odua having things so difficult in the ministry just because aviation is national Yoruba industry?

Egypt airline has three destinations in naija namely Lagos kano and Abuja. who cries foul "none"
Ethiopian airline has 4 destinations in china namely Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijin and Hangzhou.

why is the north are holding southeast down security wise and yorubas holding the east down economicaly? more that 40yrs now
cant we change our mind?

Bad belle will kill the author of the article and others who think like him. So this is how they have been keeping other regions of nigeria in economic bondage! its true that when the wind blows that fowl y**sh will be reveled.

Next should be the ibaka deep seaport so that the old eastern region will have good access to the sea.

the argument for the domestic airline is not valid because domestic airlines could also ferry intl passengers that arrive at enugu to any part of nigeria thereby giving them bussiness, Lagos is not the only airport in nigeria where domestic airlines operate or are capable of operating from. the authors view is myopic and biased.

This is quite revealing. It's interesting how this guy attempts to rationalize a stoopid POV. FFK mentioned that recent crashes had to do with 'the nature of the person we have as minister'. You can now see the paranoia against a segment of the Nigerian state.
A section of the media has sworn to make the SE appear small and of no consequence in these matters. To achieve this, they either report distasteful news ( Punch claiming Enugu is too dirty to host an international airport), or ignore the progress made there altogether.
Nokia Lumia is a case in point. Tech blogs simply touted Nokia's efforts as desperate and ignored the smartphone. Those who didn't, said bad stuff about them: Android /Apple wannabe, too little too late, and harped on about its shortcomings. The result being that majority of people simply assumed Nokia Lumia was a sub-par phone and avoided it.
My point is, create your own buzz. Create your own media. Conform to the dog-eat-dog politics. Oduah has shown herself too gentle and too eager not to be mired in controversy, hence opting to set the records straight? Has it quite helped?
If you wanna hang a dog, any rope will do.

* apologies for the dog metaphors; I actually don't hate them in real life *

yorubas fulanis and hausa are really the destroyers of naija and they are the people that lead us to this mess of a country.

I regret to say "from now I refuse to accept news from yorubas against GEJ" they are pure haters of the minorities.

I use to see yorubas with an open mind but hell no they are dubious in most things.

my advice to all minorities is to watch well in choosing an ally, not that he sweet talks etc nonsense.

what will it profit you guys when you hold a group down for too long a time? wickedness

Bandit C.:
Simple. Let Akanu Ibiam International Airport be the entry point for all Southern Nigerians and from there, the yorubas can find their way back to wherever they are heading to and by so doing, yorubas can sustain local flights.

Igbos and other easterners/ south southerners have tried and sustained it for God knows how long. Let the yorubas give it a try.

Funny how the shoe hurts when it is on the other foot.

Very true.
I served in Ondo State, and the only time you can get a flight out of Akure is when Mimiko is traveling, because he pays for the unoccupied seats.
You think they're not bothered when they realize Enugu has an international airport? Or that the FG is embarking on several other ports in the Eastern region? You think the Detroit example doesn't scare them? Brother, it does. More than you think.
All these media reports are efforts to serve several baits to Government, hoping one hooks her gill.

if we are to go by the logic we found in the writeup "to help local airlines survive"

1) close down lagos international wing and kano airport elts use Abuja and Enugu alone as entry point.
since lagos and kano are host to close to 20mil Nigerian we espect that local airlines will fair better conveying passengers from Enugu and Abuja to far north and west.

wickedness is cancerous

Sincere 9gerian: There is an ongoing ferocious attack and propaganda against the minister of aviation and all that she has achieved so far. The logic that opening up Enugu Airport to the outside world will kill the aviation sector is what I dont understand. The silly analysis obviously did not take into consideration the economic expansion in the region that will accompany the international Airport. With more economic expansion comes more traffic at both local and international Airports in the region. The argument that a whole region must be restricted to local flights just to encourage growth of the local airlines based in Lagos and Abuja is ridiculous, wicked and silly

For how long shall Ndigbo continue to be the sacrificial lamb, why must Igbos continue to travel Lagos and Abuja to catch a flight going out of the country, now that has been reversed some ndi ufu obi, the same people that always shout ''go back to your village' are having nightmare.

Truly that's wicked and silly.

this december months is going to be the deal breaker as Ethiopian Air Is going to be convinced beyond reasonable doubt of the viability of enugu as and intl entry point to nigeria. all the former eastern regional ppl are going to use that airport for their trip back home for the holiday.

I got my ticket yesterday eventhough i had to pay more than what flying through Lagos would have cost me but am going to save money as my final point of call is 2hrs drive from enugu and will save me the hassel, but i decided to pay extra just for the convenience and the sheer joy of flying into nigeria for the first time through an airport other than Lagos not because i hate lagos but because variety is the spice of life, and i need more variety in my life LOL
And i also know 3 nigerian families in my area that are entering Nigeria through enugu for christmas they also got their tickets this month.

Sincere 9gerian: I stumbled on this article on Vanguard, titled "Aviation development: A rehash of old tunes". It was written on October 05, 2013. I reproduced below parts of the article relevant to the topic.

..............................
Otherwise, how else does one describe recent hoopla that greeted Ethiopian Airlines’, ET, foray into AkanuIbiam International Airport, Enugu, two weeks ago.

It should be noted that any government serious about the development of its aviation sector would not celebrate multiple entries for foreign airlines into its territories as doing that sets the tone for death of local airlines. And for an aviation sector that is as fledgling as Nigeria’s, the multiple entries granted foreign airlines by officials of the Aviation Ministry can best be described as debilitating for a struggling economy.

The implication of this is capital flight which, before now, had been put at close to N100 billion annually. So, the wild celebration that greeted ET flight into Enugu demonstrated the lack of capacity on the part of those drawing up policies for the aviation industry.

Enugu now makes Ethiopian Airlines’ third entry point into the country, after Lagos and Abuja. Other foreign airlines enjoy same approvals from the Aviation Ministry. This makes the aviation industry the worst bleeding spot for the country in terms of capital flight.

Ideally, local airlines are positioned to feed passengers for foreign airlines but now that the international airlines are indirectly carrying passengers to virtually every corner of the country, government’s talk about assisting domestic airlines to grow amounts to policy somersault. No sane country does it.

The entry of Ethiopian Airlines into Enugu is a negative development for domestic airlines. All we have done is to give way to kill the domestic carriers; we are killing the industry gradually.

They have also succeeded in killing operations into Port Harcourt, Owerri and Asaba, as the domestic airlines are supposed to feed passengers for foreign airlines to these airports. Politically, we have scored some good points but on the other hand, we are damaging the economy,” said Capt. Dele Ore, an ex-pilot.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/10/aviation-development-a-rehash-of-old-tunes-2/

We seriously need to be praying for that airport in enugu, because the kind of bad belly people get over it, I dey fear o.

Bandit C.:
Simple. Let Akanu Ibiam International Airport be the entry point for all Southern Nigerians and from there, the yorubas can find their way back to wherever they are heading to and by so doing, yorubas can sustain local flights.

Igbos and other easterners/ south southerners have tried and sustained it for God knows how long. Let the yorubas give it a try.

Funny how the shoe hurts when it is on the other foot.

My brother imagine this type of nonsense!
It seems that these people truly believe in their hearts that we are a captured territory and must remain under their feet.
God punish satan!

I've said it that come 2015, if GEJ is not returned as President, we had better make sure the country is restructured to empower the regions/states, and remove the overwhelming powers the centre has to dictate and determine the fortunes of any ethnicity or group; like has been the case from the end of the civil war till date!

Ndigbo have gained absolutely nothing from this country owing to the fact that we're sharing it with evil hateful people, that would smile in front of you, yet stab you in the back at the earliest opportunity! The last one that was President (for a good 8 years before Yar'Adua took over) did absolutely nothing for the entire South East, yet someone will come and be talking nonsense about good governance; voting so and so; partisan politics; zoning; and shi/t like that.....when as an Igbo man i have more fundamental issues facing me in this country!

IGBO-SON:
For anyone too tired to read the OP: Basically what Captain Dele Ore is saying is that Enugu airport should revert back to a local airport, so local airlines can thrive by serving as the link between international passengers in the South East and Lagos/Abuja/Kano int'l airports! He would like us to revert back to what we had b/4 where int'l passengers from the South East would first have to get to Lagos, Abuja or Kano b/4 catching a flight out of the country....and vice-versa when they return; this he reckons would help local airlines get more business!

Nice one Dele!

;

malele:
That's what we see in this useless country nigeria.
I won't be surprised if any omo or alhaji enter power and closes that airport for some silliy reasons.

They can't hold us down economically forever,this is the time for economic liberation in the SE,there's no going back.

malele:

We seriously need to be praying for that airport in enugu, because the kind of bad belly people get over it, I dey fear o.

There's time for prayer and there's time for action, we've prayed ENOUGH, NOW is the time of action. Let us continue using the airport till a point where there are many airlines flying that route, then it would be hard to plot any evil against it.

vanguard of a drowning economic region! ndi ara!
dem never see anything

Sincere 9gerian: There is an ongoing ferocious attack and propaganda against the minister of aviation and all that she has achieved so far. The logic that opening up Enugu Airport to the outside world will kill the aviation sector is what I dont understand. The silly analysis obviously did not take into consideration the economic expansion in the region that will accompany the international Airport. With more economic expansion comes more traffic at both local and international Airports in the region. The argument that a whole region must be restricted to local flights just to encourage growth of the local airlines based in Lagos and Abuja is ridiculous, wicked and silly

Just that you know, that is precisely the reason why Yorubas want the minister's head on a platter. All the other silly reasons they give is simply a smokescreen.

But come to think of it, those who embark on international flights often get to their destination by road not air. Those that fly locally often have a business to attend in their destination , so the thinking of mr Kenneth is just as wrong as it is silly.

In any case, how many people use Enugu airport? If we are really serious about boosting local airlines buying his logic, closing down the Lagos airport which is by far the biggest and busiest will significantly boost local travel around the country .

So,this airport is giving some section(s) of this country a sleepless night plus a dirty nightmare?
Their TRUE color is gradually coming out cause they can't continue dieing in silent. hahahaha chineke!

Anyway,GEJ 2019