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| The governor of Kaduna State Nasir El-Rufai joins other passengers on the Ethiopian Airline inaugural flight from the Kaduna International Airport to Addis Ababa. PHOTO: TWITER/GOVERNOR KADUNA |
Ethiopian Airlines on Tuesday commenced flight operations to Kaduna
with Boeing 737-800 aircraft, which landed at the Kaduna International
Airport from Addis Ababa at noon carrying 17 passengers on board.
The flight with registration number ET-9221, also departed for Addis
Ababa at 1:30 p.m. with 10 officials of Kaduna State Government on board
and other passengers.
Speaking before departure of the aircraft, Governor Nasir EI’ Rufai
said Kaduna State had hitherto been disadvantaged in terms of access to
the outside world.
The governor said the state had no access to the sea, as well as a
lack of international flight into the state until the Nnamdi Azikiwe
International Airport, Abuja was shut for rehabilitation of its runway
in March.
He said that with the inaugural flight, the airport had become a full
fledged and this would enable people of the state to connect with over
100 destinations using the airline.
According to him, Ethiopian Airlines is the only international
airline that has indicated confidence in Kaduna by deciding to fly the
route.
“This is a very happy day for me and all of us in the Kaduna State
because when we came into office we recognised that Kaduna has two
disadvantages.
“The first is that we do not have access to the sea, and the second
is that we do not have international flights flying into Kaduna.
“So, our business men and residents have to go to Lagos for access to
the sea or go to Abuja or other destinations to board international
flights.
“We decided that we had to work round the clock to remove those
disadvantages. I’m happy to say today that with this inaugural
international flight out of Kaduna, we have broken the ice,” he said.
The governor assured the management of the carrier that the state
government would fully support the airline in order to make the route
viable and sustainable.
“We are going on this inaugural flight along with 10 representatives
of the Kaduna State Government to spend two or three nights in Addis and
come back because we want to show the airline how grateful we are that
this has started,” he said.
Earlier, the Ethiopian Ambassador to Nigeria, Samoa Zakaria, said the
airline had always been with Nigeria in good and bad times.
Zakaria said that Kaduna was their fifth destination in Nigeria,
adding that it operates five destinations in only two countries, China
and Nigeria.
He said that the airline was willing to begin operations to any
destination, adding that Ethiopia recognised the big brother role being
played by Nigeria in Africa.
“When the Abuja airport was closed, international airlines refused to
come to Kaduna, we were also pushed not to come but we came.
“We have so much confidence in the government of Nigeria and that will not change.
“Today, Kaduna is the domestic route of 100 destinations. Also,
effective today, Kaduna is connected to 55 African countries and this is
what we mean by bringing Africa together and bringing Africa to the
world.
“We are capable of bringing Africa together and that is why we are investing a lot in the industry.
We have the biggest maintenance Centre in Africa, five big hangers
and the biggest catering services in Africa that can produce over 100
meals a day.
“We also have the largest fleet of 95 aircraft, the largest airline,
most profitable and with the largest network in the world,” he said.
The Minister of State for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, said the
government would support any airline that showed commitment to growing
aviation business in the country.
Sirika, while commending the airline for accepting to commence full
operation to Kaduna, said the government would provide an enabling
environment for it to succeed.
He also commended the government of Kaduna State for its resilience
toward developing and encouraging aviation business into the state.
According to him, the government is in a position to encourage any
airline that has the where withal and the capacity to provide service.
“We will indeed provide the enabling environment for that entrepreneurship to succeed.
“However, I must commend the effort of the government of Kaduna state for its support for aviation.
So we will encourage Kaduna State Government in its bid to provide
employment and ginger economic activities and put their name on the map
of aviation worldwide to bring economic benefit to people of the state.
“We thank you for encouraging international airlines to open routes
here and we thank Ethiopian airlines for partnering with us because they
have been with us since the time we shut down Abuja airport,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ethiopian Airlines now
operates five routes which include Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Enugu and Kaduna.
