basilo101:
My brother, wat is happening in Nsukka now is uncontrolled urbanization with decayed infrastruture to support d emerging urban area. Enugu stat belongs to all of us, emerging urban areas such as Nsukka, Agbani, 9th mile, Obollo-Afor, Oji river etc shud be given due attention by the next administration because we all have sacrificed enough for the reconstruction of the coal city. it is nt acceptable dat dia is hardly any other place to boast of in the state apart from the capital

If the Governor is to be believed, he has done more roads in Enugu North (Nsukka zone) than in Enugu East (Enugu city + Nkanu + Isi Uzo).

Key Projects
We have done many road projects and we are continuing. We are opening up the State, making it easier for people to move around as they explore the investment opportunities we are creating. We have also constructed roads that have shortened distances between parts of the State. The one from Abakpa Nike to Nsukka is almost finished. Once completed, the journey from Enugu to Nsukka town would be under 30 minutes, making Nsukka closer to Enugu than some parts of Enugu. We have done more roads in Enugu North than in Enugu East

basilo101:
My brother, wat is happening in Nsukka now is uncontrolled urbanization with decayed infrastruture to support d emerging urban area. Enugu stat belongs to all of us, emerging urban areas such as Nsukka, Agbani, 9th mile, Obollo-Afor, Oji river etc shud be given due attention by the next administration because we all have sacrificed enough for the reconstruction of the coal city. it is nt acceptable dat dia is hardly any other place to boast of in the state apart from the capital

I think so too. But i think the current governor is doing more outside the coal city than previous governments. Other parts of Enugu should be opened up for development.

yes,according to google satellite,Enugu airport doesn't have a taxiway as is the standard with every Nigerian international airports at Lagos,Abuja,Kano,Kaduna and Port harcourt.
What the construction company did was to construct a link between the new terminal and old terminal which is 1.2km apart. But the taxiway was not extended to reach both ends of the runway as it is supposed to. So to take off at Enugu,you must use the runway itself as taxi and then turn at the end of it. Just like with the domestic airports. So Enugu is practically still a domestic airport with International flights approval

Warri _Pikin: yes,according to google satellite,Enugu airport doesn't have a taxiway as is the standard with every Nigerian international airports at Lagos,Abuja,Kano,Kaduna and Port harcourt.
What the construction company did was to construct a link between the new terminal and old terminal which is 1.2km apart. But the taxiway was not extended to reach both ends of the runway as it is supposed to. So to take off at Enugu,you must use the runway itself as taxi and then turn at the end of it. Just like with the domestic airports. So Enugu is practically still a domestic airport with International flights approval

^^^Talk about getting your black arsse punked!

International Airport in all but what matters most......facilities!

I had only heard comments about Enugu but respect to the Igbo's, it is a beauriful city!

Abagworo,
please do us a favor with your satellite screen shot wizardry and take satellite pictures of Enugu, PH,Lagos,Kano and New Kaduna International airports. So that we can easily compare what is actually lacking here on this page.
Thanks buddy.

Chima_Adeoye:

Bros,
You know, i have read all the bashings here and found that Chino didn't start this problem. He probably felt the need to defend his state from unprovoked calumny from "other" fellow igbo.Chino might really not be the trouble.We must learn to accept our fellow Igbo and really stop ganging up against Anambra people.Exactly the type of unreasonable gang up against Nigerians by "fellow" Africans, yet Nigeria is the first to donate to their causes and volunteer troops to help keep peace in their war-torn lands. I have often marvelled why no yoruba ever bad mouths Lagos,yet they have been deported back to Osun from Lagos!

Yet, Anambra that has made it obvious that every Igbo is welcome to feel at home and resisted the clamor to sack Abians working in Anambra schools and university after Orji sacked their citizens is the one constantly barraged by other Igbo?
It is really sad to see fellow Igbo people gang up against Anambra people for some perceived complex or phobia which is far from reality.I do think it has something to do with jealousy.

Did it even occur to anyone here that Princess Stella Odua is from Anambra, yet she put in all her reputation and even the risk of losing her job to counter all those who had secretly frustrated the Enugu Intl. from taking off? If that airport had been in Awka, i suspect most of our "fellow" Igbos here will even join ofenmanu people to frustrate it in their myopic thinking that they are helping to under develop Anambra! Without knowing they are actually shooting themselves in the leg.

Even though Nigeria's oil fields are located well outside their land, a major Nigerian tribe, which i have privilege of marrying into have offered everyone who spoke the language free education and have helped themselves to dominate the economy and Nigeria's oil industry purely by employing only their brothers and sisters.No matter how much others have barked or protested,they have brushed aside the criticism and continued unperturbed to be their own brothers' keepers. The Igbo must become wise or perish in it's pettiness and divisive foolish individualism.We must begin to learn how to become our brother's keeper and complement each others talent rather than constitute a stumbling block. Or we shall surely perish together for our foolishness under our persecutors wicked design, by constantly making ourselves willing tools in implementing their wicked design against the prosperity of Igbo in Nigeria.

...

Something is wrong somewhere. Some should try and phone d airline in Enugu. I just notice dat they have canceled the scheduled on where we use to tracked the flights. We need informations.

henrychubayo: Something is wrong somewhere. Some should try and phone d airline in Enugu. I just notice dat they have canceled the scheduled on where we use to tracked the flights. We need informations.

pls pls pls!!!!

dont tell me these guys are up to no good again!

am off to their office at Polo park! would keep u guys posted!!

feelamong:

pls pls pls!!!!

dont tell me these guys are up to no good again!

am off to their office at Polo park! would keep u guys posted!!

We are waiting my brother. Thank you

Ethiopian Airlines the airline that never fails to disappoint!! Their customer service record is poor. The best airline in Africa is South Africa Airways and it is the only 4-star airline in Africa. AIIA Enugu needs a world class airline to ply the route which will inspire confidence in passengers to use the airport ie Qatar Airways. All the top ten airlines in the world are based in Asia and the Middle East. Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu deserves the best!! Do not dump half baked airlines on us we are not fools.

ubomez2@yahoo.c:
Ethiopian Airlines the airline that never fails to disappoint!! Their customer service record is poor. The best airline in Africa is South Africa Airways and it is the only 4-star airline in Africa. AIIA Enugu needs a world class airline to ply the route which will inspire confidence in passengers to use the airport ie Qatar Airways. All the top ten airlines in the world are based in Asia and the Middle East. Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu deserves the best!! Do not dump half baked airlines on us we are not fools.

Did u later reach their office in polo as u said before that u re calling them? Also its disappointing that these is happening but note that is always like that for every new thing. But surely, we will have them on board for real and consistency will be their name. I still believe.

I wonder if they didn't have enough passengers for that trip and wanted to combine two trips into one?

[size=16pt]Anyhow, they should open up a booking office in Onitsha and Aba ASAP! Most of the people i talked to expressed concern about using travel agents to book their flights to China and Dubai via Ethiopian airline, which is often higher than the competitive rates for other airlines such as Emirates,Egypt Air or Turkish airline. Opening up a booking office in these major commercial centers within the catchment area of AIIA will eliminate other accessory costs and make their rates very competitive. Not to talk about the convenience to their service markets located in these cities.[/size]

henrychubayo:

We are waiting my brother. Thank you

Yes.. i have reached them,

the problem is due to lack of passengers o!

seems many people are still not aware of this route..these guys need to do massive adverts on this to attract passengers..

its looking like they want to schedule it to 2 flights a week out of Enugu.. God help us!

Thankyou for your proactive move. I would suggest to my fellow AIIAnites that you google ' Ethiopian airlines customer review'. They do not have a good reputation and are third rate in my opinion. It is not merely about opening ticketing offices in the major cities in the south east. As I have pointed out earlier AIIA needs airlines that will inspire confidence in our businessmen and women and is cost effective to fly out from Enugu. For example you have top airlines such as Qatar, Emirates, Turkish, Singapore, Cathay Pacific Airways and Qantas Airways. All these airlines ply the routes that are familiar to our businessmen -Dubai, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and others. The govt should go back to the drawing board and do some proper market research before rushing to introduce international flights just for narrow political reasons. The world today is a small village and economics is the driving force.

ubomez2@yahoo.c:
Thankyou for your proactive move. I would suggest to my fellow AIIAnites that you google ' Ethiopian airlines customer review'. They do not have a good reputation and are third rate in my opinion. It is not merely about opening ticketing offices in the major cities in the south east. As I have pointed out earlier AIIA needs airlines that will inspire confidence in our businessmen and women and is cost effective to fly out from Enugu. For example you have top airlines such as Qatar, Emirates, Turkish, Singapore, Cathay Pacific Airways and Qantas Airways. All these airlines ply the routes that are familiar to our businessmen -Dubai, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and others. The govt should go back to the drawing board and do some proper market research before rushing to introduce international flights just for narrow political reasons. The world today is a small village and economics is the driving force.

Why aren't people talking about [size=16pt]Kenya Airways[/size] ?
It is also a very efficient and even more cost effective airline that ply the same route.
Again, one European airline
([size=15pt]For Europe and United States connecting via either Douala or Lagos stops into Enugu:

Air France flight : New York- Paris -Douala-Enugu

or

Brussels airline from New York- Frankfurt-Douala-Enugu[/size] ) to cater for Enugu bound passengers from Europe and North America will be appropriate.

Please does anyone know anything about the progress of work on the new international terminal building?

ubomez2@yahoo.c:
Thankyou for your proactive move. I would suggest to my fellow AIIAnites that you google ' Ethiopian airlines customer review'. They do not have a good reputation and are third rate in my opinion. It is not merely about opening ticketing offices in the major cities in the south east. As I have pointed out earlier AIIA needs airlines that will inspire confidence in our businessmen and women and is cost effective to fly out from Enugu. For example you have top airlines such as Qatar, Emirates, Turkish, Singapore, Cathay Pacific Airways and Qantas Airways. All these airlines ply the routes that are familiar to our businessmen -Dubai, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and others. The govt should go back to the drawing board and do some proper market research before rushing to introduce international flights just for narrow political reasons. The world today is a small village and economics is the driving force.

No, from my experience, if Ethiopian airlines lacked reputation, it is not with the business men of Igbo origin. I flew the airline for the first time on the 16th of April this year from Brussels Belgium to Lagos via Addis Ababa. Spent a couple of hours at the Bole Airport before boarding the Lagos bound flight. I must say It was the first time in my long years of flying in and out of Lagos that I saw the largest concentration of native Igbo speakers in an international flight, a conservative estimate of about 90% of the total passengers on board a wide bodied aircraft.

Therefore, the point here is that in respect of Enugu airport's patronage, we must consider the geographical spread of Igbo business men in Nigeria. The current dearth of passengers is squarely the domino effect of long years of Igbos migrating out of Igboland to set up businesses somewhere else. A considerable number of our upwardly mobile business men also live in the South West, Lagos in particular. The Ethiopian management might be asking themselves where the Igbos on their daily flights to Nigeria have gone in respect of the Enugu route. Yes, the answer is that a good number also live somewhere outside Igboland.

For our memory upgrade, there are three basic groups of Igbo flyers. The first are the business men who live in Nigeria (65% of whom live outside Igboland, precisely in Lagos) and do business in Europe and Asia, this group are the frequent travellers. They chose to live outside Igboland so they could take advantage of the Intl. airport and sea port facilities which the Igbo never had. The second are those who live in Europe, US, Canada and Asia and who have partners managing their businesses in Nigeria, mostly in Lagos. This group may travel to Nigeria between two to four times a year and will always stop first in Lagos to attend to their businesses before travelling eastward. The third are those who live and work in Europe, Canada and the US and who travel seasonally during the summer and Christmas periods but mostly once a year and in huge numbers. The destination of this last group would always be direct to Igboland. So, it is easy to see why a single airline is having problem getting enough passengers at the Coal City.


Contrary to your opinion, I believe that aggressive awareness campaign and opening of offices in the SE cities would go a long way to maintain a profitable passenger traffic at AIIA for Ethiopian airlines. Making the fares a little cheaper would additionally dissuade those that might be tempted to make the long distance journey to Lagos to board one of the Ivy-league airlines. But, from my experience with Ethiopian airlines on April this year, I can assure you there was no striking difference in comfort and service b/w them and the ones you mentioned. The present embarassment at Enugu airport is neither the fault of GEJ nor Stella but we Ndigbo. For now, it is a helpless situation for It makes no sense for those in the first group above to stop at Enugu before their business stations and residences outside Igboland. Or the second group. So, the solution to the problem lies in the hands of Ndigbo. If we really want a thriving international airport, we must take the lead from the front and not from the back. Sacrifice...Igbo nationalism...gradual divestments etc., then Enugu airport can stand.

I subscribe to your line of thought Kostadinis!

I said it right from when we were expecting the first int'l flight to land; that Ndigbo have to sacrifice if we want Enugu airport to gain traction and start to thrive......no one else will do it for us!

Unlike Lagos airport that has a large customer base (of Igbos, Yorubas, Ijaws, Hausa/Fulani, expatriate workers, foreign investors/businessmen, etc-etc-etc), Enugu airport has much less to make it thrive; and this is why any Igbo man/woman (that can afford it) should patronize Enugu airport for now, even if their final destination is Lagos or Abuja......they can get a connecting flight from Enugu on arrival. This maybe would mean added expense or hassle, but it's something we just have to do! I can assure you that there are people waiting and praying that Enugu airport fails and doesn't get off the ground......if it does, this will open up Enugu and the South East to the rest of the world, and affect other cities and airports that presently benefit from travellers not using AIIA!

Part of our problem -esp' for those of us that were either born or grew up outside Alaigbo- is that we don't appreciate the enormity of the task before us, and the sacrifices and concerted efforts we have to make as a people to gain back the years of development stolen from us since the end of the civil war. This is why some may see me getting angry when we look at the time wasting going on with Onitsha river port and Orient refinery, yet everyone (esp' our govt's) acts nonchalantly, like we have all the time in the world!

Kostadinis & Igbo-Son thanks for your analysis and I must agree with you on all the points you both raised. I do agree that it will take a while before AIIA reaches its full potential, I am as passionate as any Igbo man to see it gain international status as a gateway for our people. However, we must remember that historically we Ndigbo have always regarded all parts of Nigeria as our home especially Lagos, this will not change over night. Also please bear in mind that the south east has a relative small land mass coupled with perhaps the highest population density in Africa. The marginalization we have gone through in the past 43 years has made it imperative for our people to seek their fortunes outside our homebase, but even at that we have been able to establish industries, factories especially in Aba, Onitsha, Nnewi, Enugu and other places. Thanks again for your thoughts, as they say we learn something new everyday. Dalu

The next flight is scheduled for an 1:30 minutes from now

IGBO-SON:
I subscribe to your line of thought Kostadinis!

I said it right from when we were expecting the first int'l flight to land; that Ndigbo have to sacrifice if we want Enugu airport to gain traction and start to thrive......no one else will do it for us!

Unlike Lagos airport that has a large customer base (of Igbos, Yorubas, Ijaws, Hausa/Fulani, expatriate workers, foreign investors/businessmen, etc-etc-etc), Enugu airport has much less to make it thrive; and this is why any Igbo man/woman (that can afford it) should patronize Enugu airport for now, even if their final destination is Lagos or Abuja......they can get a connecting flight from Enugu on arrival. This maybe would mean added expense or hassle, but it's something we just have to do! I can assure you that there are people waiting and praying that Enugu airport fails and doesn't get off the ground......if it does, this will open up Enugu and the South East to the rest of the world, and affect other cities and airports that presently benefit from travellers not using AIIA!

Part of our problem -esp' for those of us that were either born or grew up outside Alaigbo- is that we don't appreciate the enormity of the task before us, and the sacrifices and concerted efforts we have to make as a people to gain back the years of development stolen from us since the end of the civil war. This is why some may see me getting angry when we look at the time wasting going on with Onitsha river port and Orient refinery, yet everyone (esp' our govt's) acts nonchalantly, like we have all the time in the world!

Ijaws,binis, and hausa/fulani live closer to Enugu than Lagos. We keep underestimating Igbo and and what it could be.

ubomez2@yahoo.c:
Thankyou for your proactive move. I would suggest to my fellow AIIAnites that you google ' Ethiopian airlines customer review'. They do not have a good reputation and are third rate in my opinion. It is not merely about opening ticketing offices in the major cities in the south east. As I have pointed out earlier AIIA needs airlines that will inspire confidence in our businessmen and women and is cost effective to fly out from Enugu. For example you have top airlines such as Qatar, Emirates, Turkish, Singapore, Cathay Pacific Airways and Qantas Airways. All these airlines ply the routes that are familiar to our businessmen -Dubai, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and others. The govt should go back to the drawing board and do some proper market research before rushing to introduce international flights just for narrow political reasons. The world today is a small village and economics is the driving force.

Ethiopian Airlines is a world class airline. Stop talking rubbish.

I have just read in todays PUNCH newspaper that a 32year old undergraduate of UNIZIK has been arrested at AIIA by the NDLEA for drug trafficking. He had 25 wraps of cocaine in his stomach and flew in on 'world class' Ethiopian Airlines. I am very angry that while some of us on this thread have been suggesting ideas in order to promote AIIA, this fool has in less than 3 weeks of opening sought to damage its reputation. Well done to the NDLEA for doing a good job.

Todays flight is on schedule. Iam tracking it on flightaware

ARROBA: Todays flight is on schedule. Iam tracking it on flightaware

^^^Nice to see normal service has resumed! Though i hope all the suggestions we've been making concerning how AIIA can thrive and grow are taken on board by the aviation authorities, Ndigbo travellers and our good neighbours alike!

ubomez2@yahoo.c:
I have just read in todays PUNCH newspaper that a 32year old undergraduate of UNIZIK has been arrested at AIIA by the NDLEA for drug trafficking. He had 25 wraps of cocaine in his stomach and flew in on 'world class' Ethiopian Airlines. I am very angry that while some of us on this thread have been suggesting ideas in order to promote AIIA, this fool has in less than 3 weeks of opening sought to damage its reputation. Well done to the NDLEA for doing a good job.

^^^Don't mind the blithering fool. If only i could get my hands on him......he'd wish he had been caught in Malaysia were they chop of heads for this type of indiscretion!

IGBO-SON:


^^^Don't mind the blithering fool. If only i could get my hands on him......he'd wish he had been caught in Malaysia were they chop of heads for this type of indiscretion!

I don't mind a death sentence for these people that keep bringing our name to disrepute.

The guy was caught on inward screening of passengers to board a flight from Brazil enroute to Ethiopia.

Does that mean that ET now has two routes out of Enugu?

Enugu -> Ethiopia

Brazil -> Enugu -> Ethiopia

ubomez2@yahoo.c:
I have just read in todays PUNCH newspaper that a 32year old undergraduate of UNIZIK has been arrested at AIIA by the NDLEA for drug trafficking. He had 25 wraps of cocaine in his stomach and flew in on 'world class' Ethiopian Airlines. I am very angry that while some of us on this thread have been suggesting ideas in order to promote AIIA, this fool has in less than 3 weeks of opening sought to damage its reputation. Well done to the NDLEA for doing a good job.

What happened at Enugu airport is bad. But one thing I believe we would not want to do, is to dwell in a frame of mind that nothing like this will ever happen at AIIA.

For anyone to put him/herself in such a state of mind is an invitation to unnecessary panic attacks.

Enugu airport like MMA Lagos is owned by the federal government of Nigeria but sited in Igboland. Once it is an international airport, expect cases such as that of Anselem Nwabuwa. And again, that an airport commenced international operations a second ago was irrelevant to a criminally minded person. For the criminals, it is even the most auspicious time; when everything is not yet in place, the officials still in a festive mood and settling down in their new assignments.

While the majority of Ndigbo are well mannered, responsible and law-abiding, the Igbo world is a population of about fifty million people. Drawing from that, I have read so many negative comments about this very issue from non-Igbos. And can only say that they are just being stupid by expecting Ndigbo to behave differently in a cult-like manner. If it is possible, as they want us to believe, to tame EVERY member of Igbo population, why do we still have crime in Nigeria or even around the globe? The bottom-line is that there will always be the Anselem Nwabuwas in every midst...in every group, that is the way it is.

A couple of days ago, we were apprehensive that the Ethiopian airlines was cutting down their schedule to Enugu. There after, there was a Vanguard news report on the 9th in which the management of the airline at Enugu complained that the inability of the FAAN to install security equipment like scanning machines, conveyor belts and others was hampering their operations. Then, bang! Anselem was arrested on Thursday, probably after a quick installation of the body scanners by the FAAN. So, it is very likely that it was a problem of putting the right things in place, and not really of passenger traffic, the latter which has kept me worried.

My happiness is that the airline has commenced operation to the airport. We can only make it a constant operation wen we patronize them ourselves even if it cost a little higher than MMA. We can also encourage our ppl far and wide to patronize them too. Another flights from addis ababa just landed now. Am happy to hear this always.

kostadinis:


What happened at Enugu airport is bad. But one thing I believe we would not want to do, is to dwell in a frame of mind that nothing like this will ever happen at AIIA.

For anyone to put him/herself in such a state of mind is an invitation to unnecessary panic attacks.

Enugu airport like MMA Lagos is owned by the federal government of Nigeria but sited in Igboland. Once it is an international airport, expect cases such as that of Anselem Nwabuwa. And again, that an airport commenced international operations a second ago was irrelevant to a criminally minded person. For the criminals, it is even the most auspicious time; when everything is not yet in place, the officials still in a festive mood and settling down in their new assignments.

While the majority of Ndigbo are well mannered, responsible and law-abiding, the Igbo world is a population of about fifty million people. Drawing from that, I have read so many negative comments about this very issue from non-Igbos. And can only say that they are just being stupid by expecting Ndigbo to behave differently in a cult-like manner. If it is possible, as they want us to believe, to tame EVERY member of Igbo population, why do we still have crime in Nigeria or even around the globe? The bottom-line is that there will always be the Anselem Nwabuwas in every midst...in every group, that is the way it is.

A couple of days ago, we were apprehensive that the Ethiopian airlines was cutting down their schedule to Enugu. There after, there was a Vanguard news report on the 9th in which the management of the airline at Enugu complained that the inability of the FAAN to install security equipment like scanning machines, conveyor belts and others was hampering their operations. Then, bang! Anselem was arrested on Thursday, probably after a quick installation of the body scanners by the FAAN. So, it is very likely that it was a problem of putting the right things in place, and not really of passenger traffic, the latter which has kept me worried.

Enugu has one of the smallest economies in NIgeria I would not be surprised if the airport suffers from low patronage.