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Insecurity: New Abuja-Kaduna Airline Takes Flight  

A new local airline, Misha Travels, launched on Monday running daily flights from the nation’s capital Abuja to the North-West state of Kaduna, just two-and-half hours away by road.

Bearing the slogan, ‘No Fatigue, No Fear’, the airline chose to take on that route, which had been abandoned by commuters due to the incessant kidnappings that had been occurring along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway.

Short Flight 

Tope Popoola, a management official with Misha Travels, said that initially, the Abuja-Kaduna route was too short to be considered. However, the mounting insecurity along the expressway was the main reason the company went into business.

“We have paid careful attention to the crisis along Kaduna-Abuja Highway and we saw a huge market for air travel that is emerging from it. Most people would ordinarily be inclined to drive the two hours. It may look as if before you fasten your seatbelt, you are already in Abuja, but people are more concerned about their safety.”

Misha Travels operates a Bombardier CRJ that carries up to 50 passengers.

A Welcome Move 

The new initiative has been lauded by commuters on the Abuja-Kaduna highway which is a major connector between the nation’s capital and Kaduna and considered a major hub in the north. Hundreds have been kidnapped or killed along the expressway, including some prominent lawmakers and officials. The attacks along the road became too numerous, which led the Buhari government to hasten the modern rail between Abuja and Kaduna, which commenced in July 2016.

In 2017, when the Abuja airport was closed for runway repairs, all Abuja-bound flights were diverted to Kaduna. While the train is relatively safer than the road, there have been some reported attacks on passengers riding the train.

Previously, airlines such as Medview and others operated flights from Kaduna to Lagos via Abuja, but they were layovers and not a direct departure and destination routes.

Yakubu Datti, an aviation consultant commented that Misha Travels was right in taking up the business given the level of insecurity along the Abuja-Kaduna Highway. He described the move as the first direct commercial flight between Abuja and Kaduna that could spur similar decisions from other airlines.

“I believe it is going to be economically prosperous because there is a huge flow of people between the two cities and no one wants to travel by road anymore. It could even mark the beginning of more cross-regional flights because of the worsening insecurity,” Datti added.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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