BY OLAPEJU OLUBI
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has formally asked the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to review the three-letter location code, QRW, assigned to Osubi Airport in Delta State.
Keyamo made the request in a letter addressed to IATA Area Manager for West and Central Africa, Dr Samuel Fatokun, seeking a code that better reflects the airport’s official name and actual geographical location.
Osubi Airport, which has the ICAO code DNSU, is located in Osubi town, near Warri, Delta State.
Although it is often referred to informally as Warri Airport because it serves the Warri metropolitan area, the Federal Government said the airport’s proper geographical designation is Osubi Airport.
According to the Minister, the continued use of QRW, which is associated with the wider Warri identity, does not adequately reflect the airport’s official name and physical location.
The government has therefore asked IATA to commence a formal review of the existing code and consider a new three-letter designation that has a clearer connection with Osubi, subject to IATA’s coding rules and availability of suitable combinations.
Possible codes suggested for consideration include OSU, OSB, SUB and QSB, although the final decision rests with IATA.
Keyamo said aligning the airport’s IATA code with its official name and location would strengthen its identity and reduce possible confusion among passengers, airlines and other aviation stakeholders.
He added that the change would also promote consistency across ticketing, baggage handling, boarding passes, travel information and other aviation systems.
In a related directive, the Minister ordered airlines operating flights to and from the airport to ensure that tickets, luggage tags, boarding passes and other passenger-facing documents properly identify the facility as Osubi, Delta State.
He also directed the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and other relevant agencies to ensure that Osubi is consistently identified in their systems, records, publications and operational interfaces.
The Minister stressed that the clarification was not intended to diminish the airport’s importance to the Warri metropolitan area but to ensure geographical and operational accuracy.
“Osubi is not Warri and Warri is not Osubi,” Keyamo stated.
The Federal Government said the move formed part of its efforts to ensure that Nigeria’s aviation infrastructure and operational information are accurately represented in both national and international aviation systems.
Olapeju is a journalist and aviation reporter.
