The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo (SAN), has said the airport runway at the Ekiti State Agro-Allied International Cargo Airport, Ado- Ekiti, is world-class.

Keyamo who was at the airport on a fact finding mission on Monday told journalists that virtually all the facilities needed for a standard airport have been provided.

The Minister was received at the airport by the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr Oyeniyi Adebayo; Commissioner for Transport, Mr Kolawole Ajobiewe; Special Adviser OTSD, Dr Moyo Ekundayo; Special Adviser Media, Mr Yinka Oyebode, and Technical Adviser to the Governor on Airport Project, AVM Sunday Makinde (rtd) among others.

Fielding questions on why commercial flight operations are yet to begin at the airport, the minister said the delay is to ensure the inclusion of non-schedule flight, a standard procedure across the world.

“Well, I am here on a fact finding mission, the Ekiti Agro- Allied Airport has been on our radar for a long time and we felt it was time for us to start operations here.

“What we have approved for now is for the first six months for us to conduct non-scheduled flight. In other words, we will not have big commercial airlines coming in with plenty of passengers now but it is ready for the private jets to come in now to test the facilities here. It's not because it is not ready but that is actually the standard procedure all over the world that you start with non-scheduled flight and test the facilities before bringing a lot of passengers here.

“I can see that the aeronautical side is absolutely ready, the aeronautical where you have runway and am sure you have seen the quality of the runway, this quality of the runway you see here can be compared to any runway in the world”, the Minister asserted.

He commended the huge agribusiness going on in Ekiti State, saying the airport will provide the needed boost to further accelerate the progress.

He concluded by expressing optimism that the airport would compete favorably with similar airports across the world.