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, arguing that the designation does not accurately reflect the airport’s official name or geographical location.
Keyamo made the request in a letter addressed to IATA’s Area Manager for West and Central Africa, Dr. Samuel Fatokun, seeking consideration of a new code that more closely corresponds with the airport’s identity as Osubi.
Osubi Airport, which has the ICAO four-letter location indicator DNSU, is physically located in Osubi town near Warri. Although the airport is often referred to informally as ‘Warri Airport’ because it serves the Warri metropolitan area, the Federal Government maintains that its official geographical designation is Osubi Airport.
According to Keyamo, the continued use of QRW, which is associated with the broader Warri identity, does not adequately represent the airport’s actual name and location.
The Minister asked IATA to initiate a formal review of the code and, subject to its coding standards and availability, consider alternatives that have a clearer connection to Osubi.
Among the possible codes suggested for consideration are OSU, OSB, SUB and QSB, although the Federal Government acknowledged that the final designation remains subject to IATA’s established procedures.
Keyamo said aligning the airport’s IATA code with its official name and physical location would strengthen its identity and reduce possible confusion for passengers, airlines and other stakeholders.
He added that the change would also promote consistency across aviation, travel, ticketing, baggage and related information 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 identify the airport appropriately 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 the Osubi designation is consistently reflected in their systems, records, publications and operational interfaces.
Keyamo stressed that the clarification was not intended to diminish Osubi Airport’s role in serving the wider Warri metropolitan area, but to ensure geographical and operational accuracy.
He stated emphatically: ‘Osubi is not Warri and Warri is not Osubi.’
The Federal Government said the move was part of its broader effort to ensure that Nigeria’s aviation infrastructure, locations and operational information are accurately represented in national and international aviation systems.