Gateway Air, the Ogun State-owned airline has introduced a new Abuja–Lagos–Gateway service through Gateway International Airport Iperu opening a direct air connection between the Federal Capital Territory and Ogun’s commercial and industrial corridor.
The service operated in partnership with ValueJet departs Abuja early in the morning and connects passengers to Gateway International Airport through Lagos. The airlines said the schedule is designed to give business travellers, industrialists, professionals and other passengers access to Ogun while leaving most of the day available for meetings and other engagements.
The development gives Abuja-based businesses and government officials another route into Ogun whose industrial base includes manufacturing companies, industrial estates, agriculture, logistics, real estate projects and economic free zones.
Omololu Majekodunmi, the managing director of ValueJet said the early-morning schedule was designed around passengers with demanding schedules.
“Our daily Abuja-Lagos-Gateway service is about giving our passengers their day back,” Majekodunmi said, adding that the service offers an option for passengers travelling for business or personal engagements in Ogun and its environs.
The reports on the new service describe it as daily although Majekodunmi also referred to an option to fly five days a week, indicating that the operating frequency is structured around weekday demand.
Olugbenga Dairo, Ogun State commissioner for transportation, said the service responds to growing demand from residents, businesses and visitors for air links between the state and major commercial and population centres.
Dairo said Governor Dapo Abiodun had directed Gateway Air to continually review its flight schedule and fleet size in response to passenger demand.
Gateway International Airport’s location near the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway places it close to several industrial and commercial centres in Ogun. The airport’s own information describes the facility as serving both passenger and cargo operations with a 3,400-metre runway designed to accommodate wide-body aircraft.
Gateway Air began domestic operations in April with ValueJet providing the operational platform for the state-owned carrier. Two CRJ900 aircraft are currently identified as operating for Gateway Air under ValueJet’s operation.
The new Abuja connection therefore adds another layer to the airport’s development beyond its initial domestic network. Gateway Air’s earlier schedule included Iperu-Abuja and Iperu-Kano services alongside Abuja connections to Port Harcourt, Calabar and Jos.
The Ogun expansion for the scheduled air links could help reduce the dependence of business travellers on road access to the state’s industrial clusters, while creating additional passenger traffic for the relatively new airport.
The partnership also gives ValueJet an opportunity to expand its role in operating state-backed aviation services while using its existing domestic network and fleet to support Gateway Air’s expansion. The airline currently operates domestic and regional services, while additional fleet capacity is being positioned to support its wider network.
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