The Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has revealed that it has granted approval to four airports to operate till 10:00pm.

The airports granted approval are Yola International Airport, Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport in Owerri, General Tunde Idiagbon International Airport in Ilorin, and Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu State.

The approval came after stakeholders called for an extension of time for flight operations into other airports aside Abuja and Lagos airports.

The Director General of NAMA, Engr. Ahmed Farouk disclosed this at the 2025 aviation stakeholder forum held in Abuja on Tuesday.

Farouk, who was represented by the Director of Air Traffic Services, Mr. John Tayo also revealed that an ad-hoc approval has been granted to AirPeace airline to operate Anambra and Asaba flights.

He said, “We are always available to grant extension because of our capacity. For now, we will not be able to operate all the airports in the country till 10 o’clock but following the directive of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, we granted approval to Yola, Enugu, Owerri and Ilorin airports to operate till 10pm.

“The airports got the approval because we found them worthy and because they have the equipment to support the operation.”

Highlighting some of the achievements of NAMA, Farouk said free route airspace has been introduced by the Agency to reduce cost of flying, reduce workload on Air Traffic Controllers (ATCs), reduce carbon emission and reduce general cost of operation.

He added that NAMA has provided a fully functional flight calibration unit, which is used to calibrate navigational aids and validate instrument approach procedure.

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo also disclosed that President Bola Tinubu has approved special funds for the provision of NAMA equipment.

He said, “The Ministry has secured special funding for NAMA from the president to upgrade NAMA equipment. This means that the provision of NAMA equipment is being moved from budgetary provisions into special funds.” (The Nation)

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