United Nigeria Airline has clocked one year in the Nigerian airspace. On the occasion of this milestone, the airline’s Chairman/CEO, Chief Obiorah Okonkwo recently held a press conference with journalists to take stock on United Nigeria’s journey thus far.
According to the Airline’s CEO, the past year has been nothing short of productive, with United Nigeria operating forty (40) daily flights and airlifting over two hundred and sixty thousand (260,000) passengers using its initial four (04) Embraer E145 jets and its recently acquired Airbus A320.
“We hit Yenagoa in July, becoming the only airline operating into Bayelsa International Airport. We further responded to high demand on the Owerri, Asaba and Enugu routes by creating additional flights to those airports in November; and in December, we started flying into the new Anambra cargo airport at Umueri. Through this, we have created over five hundred (500) direct and more than a thousand (1000) indirect jobs”, said the airline’s Chairman.
With regards to route and fleet expansion, Chief Okonkwo revealed Yola, Kano, Jigawa and Benin as the airline’s next destinations, reason why plans are currently being made to revamp the airline’s fleet to include wider body aircraft – plans which according to the CEO, will materialize in the coming year.
Speaking about his vision for United Nigeria, the Chairman noted that even though natural, technical and human factors impact on-time departures, his vision is still to provide commendable services to the public, and to keep tardiness in check.
In his own words, “While we cannot control the natural factors, we shall do our best to keep the technical and human factors under check. Like I had said previously, it is because of my unflinching faith in the unity and potential greatness of this country that I named the airline United Nigeria, with the slogan ‘Flying to Unite’.”
