The Federal Government and the Enugu State Government are in talks to ensure the commencement of direct cargo flight operations between Enugu and Guangzhou, China, before the end of the year.

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Barr. Festus Keyamo, disclosed this in Lagos during the launch of United Air’s newly acquired aircraft on Thursday.

The Minister also said the Federal Government had effected a structural management overhaul at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, bringing the airport under a privately run operational framework.

“One of our prides in the South is the Enugu International Airport. The Enugu governor approached Mr. President, noting that the airport was not maximising its economic potential under standard bureaucratic structures, and requested to bring in private investors to run it. Mr. President gave the green light.

“As I speak with you, Enugu is now fully privately owned and fully supported by state government, with the clear objective of also turning it into a dedicated cargo hub for the entire Southeast.”

To this effect, Keyamo said high-level bilateral trade negotiations were ongoing with a view to securing direct cargo flights between China and the South-East by the end of 2026.

“Just two days ago, the Enugu governor and I were actively negotiating the first direct cargo flight from Guangzhou, China, straight into Enugu.

“We are targeting December for the maiden flight. This will allow our Southeast merchants and traders in China to consolidate their goods into unified cargo accounts twice a week, flying straight into Enugu for seamless delivery to hubs like Onitsha and Aba,” he concluded.

It will be recalled that Governor Mbah, in July 2025, launched Enugu Air, a state-owned airline, as part of the administration’s integrated blueprint for a modern, multimodal transport ecosystem and its vision of making Enugu a major aviation and logistics hub.

Since then, Enugu Air has expanded its fleet from three aircraft at inception to six, with plans to further increase the number as it prepares to commence operations to regional destinations such as Accra, Libreville and Abidjan in the next few months, as well as long-haul flight operations to various destinations around the world by the end of the year. (Daily Sun)