…directs airlines, aviation agencies to adopt official designation

By Dickson Omobola

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, has urged the International Air Transport Association, IATA, to review the existing three-letter location code assigned to Osubi Airport in Delta State.

Keyamo, in a letter addressed to the IATA Area Manager for West and Central Africa, Dr Samuel Fatokun, stated that the continued use of the IATA code QRW does not adequately reflect the airport’s actual name and physical location.

Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the Minister, Tunde Moshood, in a statement, said Osubi Airport, which bears the ICAO four-letter location indicator DNSU, is physically located in Osubi town, near Warri, Delta State.

The statement also said the Minister has directed all airlines operating flights to and from the airport to ensure that appropriate flight tickets, luggage tags boarding passes and other passenger-facing documentation reflect the airport’s proper designation as Osubi, Delta State.

The statement reads: “While the airport is sometimes informally identified as Warri Airport because it serves the Warri metropolitan area, Federal Government has emphasised that its established and appropriate geographical designation is Osubi Airport.

“Federal government is therefore asking IATA to initiate a formal review of the existing code and, subject to IATA’s applicable coding standards and the availability of suitable combinations, consider a three-letter code that bears a clearer relationship to the name Osubi.

“Among the possible alternatives suggested for consideration are OSU, OSB, SUB and QSB, while acknowledging that the final designation remains subject to IATA’s established coding procedures and availability.

“The minister said aligning the airport’s IATA code more closely with its official name and physical location would strengthen the airport’s identity, reduce potential ambiguity for passengers and other stakeholders, and promote consistency across aviation, travel, ticketing, baggage and related information systems.

“He has also directed the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, and other relevant aviation agencies to ensure that the proper designation is consistently reflected and enforced across their respective systems, records, publications and operational interfaces.

“The minister stressed that the clarification is intended to ensure geographical and operational accuracy, rather than create confusion around the airport’s role in serving the wider Warri metropolitan area.”