Adekanmbi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Saturday that although some airlines had begun offering Ibadan–London flight options, such services were not direct international operations from the airport.

According to him, the current arrangements involve stopovers in Abuja before proceeding to the United Kingdom.

“Those are not the direct flights we promised. They take off from Ibadan, transit through Abuja and then continue to the UK.

“It is a good start, but our plan is to have direct international flights once the new terminal is completed,” he said.

Adekanmbi disclosed that the international terminal to handle direct overseas flights, was just between 40 per cent and 50 per cent completion.

The project chairman added that construction work was still ongoing on the terminal, but expressed optimism that the it would be ready for operation before the end of the year.

He said that the airport had undergone major upgrades, including expansion and extension of the runway.

“We have lengthened the runway from 2,400 metres to 3,000 metres and expanded it from 45 metres to 60 metres.

“The runway is now ready to receive big, wide-bodied aircraft.

“We have also restored the runway lights, which means aircraft can land at night. In addition, the Instrument Landing System (ILS) has been installed to enable aircraft land safely even in poor weather conditions,” he said.

Adekanmbi said local flight operations had fully resumed, with aircraft flying daily to Abuja and other parts of the country.

According to him,  the apron has also been expanded to accommodate larger aircraft and improve turnaround time.

“Also, new operational vehicles have been provided for aviation agencies, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), the airport fire service and the airport police command,” he said.