After a two-month suspension due to a terrorist attack on Kaduna International Airport, Azman Air has resumed flights to Kaduna.
The airline touched down at the airport around noon on Monday, much to the delight of airport stakeholders, passengers, and the airport authority.
The flight to Kaduna was cancelled on March 28 after the airport was attacked by terrorists who invaded the runway.
The flight was cancelled while the airline assessed airport security.
Other airlines have also grounded flights following the attack, which resulted in the death of a security guard assigned to the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).
Read Also: COEASU issues 21-day ultimatum to FG to meet its demand, or…..
The Abuja-Kaduna train was attacked the next day, killing ten people and kidnapping 61 others.
Passengers on the Kaduna route, however, were given some relief after one of the airlines operating the route resumed flights.
Azman arrived at the airport around noon on Monday with 42 passengers, some of whom paid more than N100,000 to travel from Abuja to Kaduna.
According to reports, the Abuja-Kaduna flight takes about 20 minutes, but many passengers paid over N100,000 for a two-leg ticket from Abuja to Kaduna.
Though the airline did not fly directly to Kaduna, it did fly passengers to Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed Airport, where they were connected to the Kaduna flight.
“This demonstrates how desperate people were to get to Kaduna in light of the security challenges on the Abuja-Kaduna Road and the suspension of the Abuja-Kaduna Train Service,” a source said.
Read Also: IPOB leader, Kanu, laments carnage in the S’East, orders an end to “senseless” killings
The flight will be operated on a daily interval, according to an Azman official, so the next flight to Kaduna will be on Wednesday.
“It was a defining moment for the Aviation community as the airport is reopened after being closed for two months,” the airline said on Twitter. It’s fantastic to be back.”
