Rivers State Government and the management of Ethiopian Airlines have
\nreached an agreement in principle for the operation of permanent
\ninternational flights from the Port Harcourt International\u00a0 Airport,
\nsubject to the approval of the relevant federal authorities.<\/p>\n
The two parties reached the agreement at the Headquarters of Ethiopian
\nAirlines after a high-powered meeting attended by the Group Chief
\nExecutive Officer of Ethiopian Airlines, Dr Tewolde Gebremariam, the
\nChief Commercial\u00a0 Officer,\u00a0 Esayas Wolde Mariam, Vice President,
\nStrategic Planning,\u00a0 Busera Awel,\u00a0 Managing Director,\u00a0 Sales
\nInternational,\u00a0 Lemma Yadecha,\u00a0 Regional Director,\u00a0 Sales and Services ,
\nWestern Africa,\u00a0 Mitiku Asrat and Manager, Group Alliance and Commercial
\nCooperation,\u00a0 Hewoel Lemma.<\/p>\n
Chief Commercial\u00a0 Officer,\u00a0 Esayas Wolde Mariam, in an address declared
\nthat Ethiopian Airlines has agreed to fly permanently from\u00a0 Port
\nHarcourt International Airport subject to the approval of the Federal
\nAuthorities.<\/p>\n
He said: “We are willing and capable to fly into Port Harcourt on a
\nregular basis.\u00a0 For now, we have exhausted our Bilateral Air Agreement
\nApproval and we need another approval to operate the Port Harcourt
\nroute.<\/p>\n
“We need your help to ensure that approval comes from the Federal
\nAuthorities.\u00a0 At first, there should be a temporary operating permit,
\npending the final approval “.<\/p>\n
The Chief Commercial Officer added that Ethiopian Airlines needs the
\ninitial support of the Rivers State Government for handling and aviation
\ninfrastructure in Port Harcourt to develop the new Market.<\/p>\n
He declared that Ethiopian Airlines will also embark on advertisements
\nto promote Port Harcourt as a tourist and investment destination.<\/p>\n
Vice President,\u00a0 Strategic Planning,\u00a0 Busera Awel of Ethiopian Airlines
\nmade a presentation on the capacity and vision of the Airline for the
\ncontinent.<\/p>\n
In his response,\u00a0 Rivers State Governor, Nyesom\u00a0 Ezenwo Wike declared
\nthat the State Government\u00a0 is willing to provide an enabling environment
\nfor Ethiopian Airlines to operate in the state.\u00a0 He assured that he will
\nmeet with the Minister of Aviation to ensure that Port Harcourt
\nInternational Airport is approved for Ethiopian Airlines as a
\ndestination.<\/p>\n
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike declared that his
\nadministration is working on making Port Harcourt a regional air
\ntransport hub for greater economic development of the state.<\/p>\n
He said: “As we therefore consolidate on our achievements, we want to
\nalso focus on making Port Harcourt city a regional air transport hub
\nthrough the private public partnership approach while leveraging on the
\nexisting aviation infrastructure and related market and other advantages
\nof the State.<\/p>\n
“I wish to assure you that we are ready to do everything within our
\npowers and spheres of authority and influence to facilitate the
\nrealization of your interest and desire directly and sustainably fly
\nfrom Port Harcourt to Addis Ababa and other parts of the world”.<\/p>\n
Governor Wike thanked\u00a0 Ethiopian Airlines for their\u00a0 interest in
\nexpanding and retaining their\u00a0 services in Port Harcourt city. He said
\nthat the Rivers State Government\u00a0 will offer its social partnership,
\ngoodwill and support.<\/p>\n
The Governor noted that Port Harcourt is strategically located to serve
\nas a transit point for the entire South-South and parts of the
\nSouth-East.<\/p>\n
“We have agreed in principle that there is need for Ethiopian Airlines
\nto fly from Port Harcourt to other destinations.\u00a0 Port Harcourt is a
\ndestination of choice, as it easily accessible for the entire
\nSouth-South and other states in the South-East”, Governor Wike said.<\/p>\n
Governor\u00a0 Wike was accompanied by Former Deputy Speaker of House of
\nRepresentatives,\u00a0 Rt Hon Austin Opara,\u00a0 Rivers State PDP Chairman,\u00a0 Bro
\nFelix Obuah,\u00a0 Director General of Rivers State Bureau of Public
\nProcurement,\u00a0 Mr\u00a0 Thompson Emmanuel,\u00a0 Former House of Assembly Member,
\nFelix Nwaeke,\u00a0 Former Eleme Local Government Area Chairman, Chief Ejor
\nN. Ejor and President of Port Harcourt Investors and Entrepreneurs
\nForum, Ibifiri Bob-Manuel.<\/p>\n
Also on Thursday,\u00a0 Governor Wike was led on\u00a0 a Facility Tour at
\nEthiopian Airlines in Addis Ababa.\u00a0 The Governor and his delegation were
\nbriefed on the capacity of Ethiopian Airlines to Service the Port
\nHarcourt-Addis Ababa International Route.<\/p>\n
This route is a gateway to the Middle East and Fast East Asia. It is
\nalso a budget airline to Europe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rivers State Government and the management of Ethiopian Airlines have reached an agreement in principle for the operation of permanent international flights from the Port Harcourt International\u00a0 Airport, subject to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":69704,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n