Governor Dauda Lawal has expressed excitement over the successful test-run of a maiden flight at the Gusau International Airport in Zamfara State.
His spokesperson, Sulaiman Bala Idris, said in a statement on Sunday that the aircraft landed at the airport at about 4:30pm.
He said the aircraft, a Bombardier Challenger 605 operated by the Federal Government, carried out a one-off test to assess the airport’s readiness for VIP movements scheduled for next week.
“Today will remain a historic day in the history of Zamfara State as Governor Lawal witnessed the landing of the maiden flight at the Gusau International Airport,” the statement said.
According to him, the test flight was conducted in line with the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig. CARs) Part 12.1.4.1(c).
He added that prior to the exercise, the state government sought and obtained a one-off ‘No Technical Objection’ from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for the aircraft to land in Gusau.
Idris explained that the flight operation was carried out under Visual Flight Rules (VFR), limited to daylight hours from sunrise to sunset.
He noted that the successful test flight marks a significant milestone for the state, which has operated without an airport since its creation over three decades ago.