…expands flight services to Jalingo, Minna
Overland Airways, one of Nigeria’s leading airlines and longest-serving private domestic airlines, has resumed flight services to Warri (Osubi Airport), Delta State, from Lagos and Abuja, effective May 20, 2025.
Speaking during a ceremony to celebrate the airline’s flight resumption into Warri, Aderonke Emmanuel-James, Chief Operating Officer of Overland Airways, said: “Overland Airways resumption of flight services to Warri is in response to the yearnings of our customers for reliable air transport to connect the city and its environs with Abuja and Lagos.
“This flight will support important economic and social linkages between the people of Delta State and other parts of Nigeria. Passengers on the Warri service can connect seamlessly across our network to destinations in Northern and Southwestern Nigeria. To fully support this aspiration, we are deploying on the route our brand-new Embraer E-175 jet aircraft, which features Premium and Economy Class cabins.”
With the resumption of flight operations, Overland Airways will operate the Warri-Lagos-Warri route and the Warri-Abuja-Warri route on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, offering morning arrival and departure into and from Warri.
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The flights will depart Lagos for Warri at 08:15 am and Warri to Lagos at 12:30 pm. Flights from Warri to Abuja will depart at 0925am, while Abuja to Warri will depart at 1105am.
Overland Airways expanding route network has seen the restoration of flight services from Lagos and Abuja to Jalingo, Taraba State; and commencement of new services from Lagos and Abuja to Minna, Niger State. The Warri route is the latest route, while plans are afoot to launch other routes in the months ahead.
“We have commenced with three weekly flight services from Warri to Abuja and Lagos with plans to scale up the services to a daily operation in the coming weeks. We express our appreciation to the Management and Staff of Osubi Airport for their support and assure our customers of the consistent and reliable flight services that Overland Airways is noted for”, James added.
Overland Airways’ service offering has evolved from an all-turboprop fleet to a mixed fleet with the introduction of brand-new Embraer E175 jets.
In October 2024, Overland Airways renewed its IOSA safety certification for the 5th consecutive time, reaffirming its position as a safe and leading African carrier.
Also speaking during the event, Winston Ifeacho Egwuatu, the airport manager of Osubi Airport in Warri, Delta State, said he was happy to have Overland operate into Warri at a time when it lost another airline over capacity issues.
Egwuatu assured that he and his team will provide all infrastructure and environment needed for Overland to operate seamlessly, adding that the airport has a record for providing one of the best safety airport infrastructures in Nigeria.
He noted that the airport’s runway size is a significant challenge limiting the number of airlines operating into the airport.
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According to Egwuatu, “The size of the runway has kept several airlines away from the airport.”
The runway, which is 2.1 kilometres long, has a setback of 150 metres at both ends, reducing the available landing space to 1.8 kilometres. Egwuatu explained, “What is available for landing is 1.8 kilometres.”
Egwuatu said this limitation has forced airlines to operate with smaller aircraft, which in turn has limited the number of airlines that can fly into the airport.
He noted that some interested airlines do not have aircraft that can be accommodated on the runway, making it difficult for them to operate into the airport. “Some of the airlines interested in operating into the route do not have the aircraft size that can be accommodated at the airport,” he said.
However, there is hope on the horizon, as Egwuatu assured that Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, has commenced plans to expand the airport runway to allow more airlines to operate into the airport.
