Trade and commerce between the South East zone and China will soon receive a boost as AirPeace commences inter­national flights from Enugu to China.
The airlines’ flight from the Akanu Ibiam Internation­al Airport to China, where many Igbo do business, is seen by stakeholders as a signifi­cant move that would create more jobs and boost business transactions between Nigeri­ans from that region and their Chinese counterparts.
The cheering news was broken on Thursday by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AirPeace Airline, Mr. Allen Onyema, at the end of the Enu­gu Investment Summit when he featured as one of the dis­cussants on the effects of the transportation industry to national development.
Onyema told the audi­ence that the Enugu-to-Chi­na air route was part of the five international routes that President Muhammadu Bu­hari approved for AirPeace Airline two weeks ago. The others are flights to Mumbai (India), Dubai (UAE), Johan­nesburg (South Africa) and Atlanta in the United States of America (USA).
The airline’s boss said he was excited with the coming flight to China because it was the first time that an African airline would be operating a direct flight from the conti­nent into China.
He said: “What it entails is that travellers from across the West African region and the rest of Africa, who want to visit China, will first fly into Enugu, before embarking on the China trip. This means that AirPeace Airline will be con­tributing in no small measure to the social and infrastruc­tural development of Enugu State.”
On the problems of car­go airlift experienced at the Akanu Ibiam Internation­al Airport, which business­men from the South East zone of the country have de­plored because they prefer di­rect landing of their goods in the airport, Onyema said the situation would be sorted out with the Federal Government when AirPeace commences its scheduled flights from Enugu to Beijing.[img][/img]