Airport Reporters

  Aeronautical Engineers' Institute confers gold award on United Nigeria Airlines' boss ...Cites safety culture, rapid growth, capacity building       The Executive Chairman of United Nigeria Airlines (UNA), Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, has been conferred with a Gold Medal Award by the Institute of Nigerian Aeronautical Engineers (INAE). The award is in recognition of the airline's safety culture, capacity building and rapid growth despite a turbulent economic climate.   Presented by the National President  of INAE, Dr. Ebitei Charles at the International Conference Fellowship Conferment , in Lagos on Wednesday, the body said it is reserved for individuals whose work has significantly advanced the field of aeronautical engineering. INAE, a division of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) regulated by the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN). It said Okonkwo was honoured for steering UNA’s rapid expansion in  five years since its inc...

  Aeronautical Engineers' Institute confers gold award on United Nigeria Airlines' boss ...Cites safety culture, rapid growth, capacity building       The Executive Chairman of United Nigeria Airlines (UNA), Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, has been conferred with a Gold Medal Award by the Institute of Nigerian Aeronautical Engineers (INAE). The award is in recognition of the airline's safety culture, capacity building and rapid growth despite a turbulent economic climate.   Presented by the National President  of INAE, Dr. Ebitei Charles at the International Conference Fellowship Conferment , in Lagos on Wednesday, the body said it is reserved for individuals whose work has significantly advanced the field of aeronautical engineering. INAE, a division of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) regulated by the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN). It said Okonkwo was honoured for steering UNA’s rapid expansion in  five years since its inc...

 NDLEA EDO DISCOVERS 1,359KG OF CANNABIS IN A FOUR-BEDROOM FLAT AT ILLUSHI The Edo State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), in a combined operation with men of the military army, successfully executed an intense intelligence-driven raid operation in the Illushi community, Esan South East Local Government Area.  The operation led to the discovery of a four-bedroom bungalow used as a cannabis warehouse located in a residential building area in the Illushi community, considered a cannabis hub. NDLEA Commander Mitchell Ofoyeju, PhD, said that a staggering seizure includes fifty-two giant bags, three gallons of cannabis seeds and a bag of cannabis seeds. The cannabis is one thousand, two hundred and seventy-three kilogrammes, (1,273kg) with eighty-six killogrammes (86kg) of cannabis seeds, totaling 1,359kg were recovered at the warehouse.  “During the raid on a four-bedroom bungalow that was being used as a warehouse for storing large quantities of th...

  Jedlof Foundation empowers widows, small businesses with grants, financial literacy  The Jedlof Foundation has reaffirmed its commitment to empowering widows and small business owners through financial support, business training, and educational assistance, with beneficiaries sharing inspiring testimonies of transformed lives during the foundation's business empowerment outreach held on July 25, 2026. Speaking at the event, the Founder of the Jedlof Foundation, Dr. Mrs. Ebele Okoye, said the organization has remained committed to improving the lives of widows, vulnerable families, and children through business empowerment, payment of school fees, food support, and other humanitarian interventions since 2022. According to her, the foundation's latest outreach focused on equipping members with practical business management skills, financial literacy, health education, and biblical principles for sustainable entrepreneurship. Dr. Okoye encouraged participants to always put God ...

 A Runway Excursion Is Not a Crash:  What Aviation Owes the Travelling Public By Alexander Nwuba I have loved airplanes since I was a child. It is that love, long before any title or office, that brought me into aviation, and it is what still brings me to the airport.  So, I have never been able to run an airline from behind a desk. As CEO, I spent more time at the airport than in the office: standing in the terminal, watching passengers, watching their experience, their anxieties, their small frustrations, and sometimes stepping in personally.  One occasion has stayed with me for years. A crew, in a hurry to resolve a snag, informed passengers of a technical problem and then opened the engine cowling in full view of the cabin.  For more than thirty minutes the passengers sat watching engineers work inside an open engine. When the work was done, and the aircraft declared serviceable, the passengers refused to go. I do not blame them. Nobody had translated what t...

  When an Aircraft Leaves the Runway, Let the Facts Land First By Henry Agbebire  The runway excursion involving an Enugu Air Embraer E170 at Benin Airport on Thursday, 23 July 2026, understandably attracted widespread public attention. Images and videos of the aircraft resting beyond the runway, surrounded by muddy terrain after heavy rainfall, spread rapidly across social media within minutes of the occurrence. As expected, the incident generated anxiety among Nigerians. What was less expected, however, was the speed with which conclusions were drawn. Before the emergency response had fully run its course, before investigators had secured the site, before passengers had been interviewed, and before the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) commenced its technical analysis, many social media commentators had already reached their verdicts. Some blamed the pilots. Others condemned airport rescue procedures. A few went as far as questioning the competence of Nigeria's avi...