A United Nigeria Airlines Embraer E145 touched down at Ekiti Agro-Allied International Cargo Airport in Ado-Ekiti on 10 December 2025, the first scheduled commercial flight to serve the facility since construction began six years earlier. The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority had cleared the airport for scheduled operations in an interim permit dated 3 October 2025, following a validation inspection in June, after an earlier approval limited to non-scheduled flights had expired in December 2024.
A Four-Administration Project
Governor Biodun Oyebanji, who inaugurated the flight alongside dignitaries including former state governors, described the airport as a shared legacy spanning four administrations: conceived under Segun Oni, its site acquired and cleared under Ayodele Fayose, construction begun under Kayode Fayemi, and the project completed under his own government. United Nigeria Airlines agreed to operate the airport's only scheduled service initially, connecting Ekiti with Lagos and Abuja using 50-seat aircraft, with the state government also installing an instrument landing system to allow night and all-weather operations.
Built at a cost of roughly ₦49.77 billion, with legal figure Aare Afe Babalola contributing navigational equipment, the airport was designated primarily as an agro-allied cargo facility intended to give Ekiti's agricultural producers a direct export gateway alongside its new passenger service.
