Ibom Air, the airline wholly owned by the Akwa Ibom State Government, began scheduled commercial operations on 7 June 2019 with an inaugural flight from Uyo to Lagos, becoming Nigeria's first state government-owned carrier. The airline's Bombardier CRJ-900LR landed at Murtala Muhammed Airport 2 in Lagos at 1.15pm local time, where it was met with a water cannon salute from Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria fire crews.
Filling a Reliability Gap
Chief Operating Officer George Uriesi, a former managing director of FAAN, said the airline was launching on the Uyo-Abuja-Lagos-Uyo routing and would expand gradually, with schedule reliability and on-time performance positioned as its core differentiators in a domestic market long criticised for delays and cancellations. Uriesi said the choice of the 90-seat CRJ900 followed a feasibility study weighted toward newer aircraft, and that the airline had no immediate plans for long-haul routes.
Director of Maintenance Lookman Animashaun credited the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority with a thorough certification process ahead of the launch, after the carrier received its Air Operator's Certificate the previous month. Ibom Air formed part of a broader Akwa Ibom State aviation investment push that already included Victor Attah International Airport and a planned maintenance, repair and overhaul facility in Uyo.