Minister Tells IATA: Osubi Is Not Warri — Orders Airlines, Aviation Agencies to Reflect Correct Designation
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, has moved to end what the Federal Government considers a longstanding geographical misidentification of Osubi Airport in Delta State, formally asking the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to review its three-letter location code, QRW.
Keyamo, in a letter to IATA Area Manager for West and Central Africa, Dr. Samuel Fatokun, requested that the international aviation body consider assigning the airport a code that more accurately corresponds with its official name and physical location in Osubi, near Warri.
The airport currently carries the ICAO four-letter location indicator, DNSU, while its IATA code is QRW, a designation associated with the wider Warri identity.
The Federal Government said the continued use of QRW does not adequately reflect the airport’s established geographical designation as Osubi Airport.
According to the Minister, the proposed review is intended to strengthen the airport’s identity, eliminate potential ambiguity for passengers and aviation stakeholders, and ensure consistency across airline reservations, ticketing, baggage handling, and other aviation information systems.
The government suggested OSU, OSB, SUB, and QSB among possible alternatives for IATA’s consideration, while acknowledging that the final three-letter code would be determined by IATA in accordance with its established coding procedures and the availability of suitable combinations.
Osubi Airport is physically located in Osubi town, Delta State, and serves the wider Warri metropolitan area. The Federal Government, however, said its role in serving Warri should not be confused with its geographical identity.
In a related directive, Keyamo ordered airlines operating flights to and from the airport to ensure that passenger-facing documents, including flight tickets, baggage tags, and boarding passes, reflect the airport’s proper designation 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 aviation agencies to ensure that Osubi is consistently identified as such in their systems, records, publications, and operational interfaces.
The Minister said the directive was intended to promote geographical and operational accuracy rather than undermine the airport’s importance to the Warri metropolitan area.
“Osubi is not Warri, and Warri is not Osubi,” Keyamo stated emphatically.
The government said the proposed change would help bring Nigeria’s aviation records and passenger information into closer alignment with the actual locations and official identities of its airports.
The development is expected to affect how the airport is represented across a range of aviation and travel systems if IATA approves a new location code.
The Federal Government reiterated its commitment to ensuring that Nigeria’s aviation infrastructure, locations, and operational information are accurately represented in both national and international aviation systems.
The statement was signed by Tunde Moshood, Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development.
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