The federal government has asked the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to review the existing three-letter code assigned to Osubi Airport in Delta State, arguing that the designation does not accurately reflect the airport’s official name and location.
The request was made by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, in a letter addressed to the IATA Area Manager for West and Central Africa, Samuel Fatokun.
According to a statement issued on Monday by the minister’s media aide, Tunde Moshood, the government wants the airport’s current IATA code, QRW, replaced with a designation that more clearly identifies Osubi.
Osubi Airport has the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) four-letter location indicator DNSU and is physically located in Osubi town, near Warri in Delta State.
The airport has, however, commonly been referred to as Warri Airport because of its proximity to and service of the Warri metropolitan area.
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The federal government said this practice has created a mismatch between the airport’s geographical identity and the name by which it is formally known.
Keyamo argued that the continued use of QRW does not sufficiently represent Osubi Airport’s actual name and physical location.
The minister noted that airport codes are widely used across the aviation industry, including on flight tickets, baggage tags, boarding passes, reservation systems and international travel platforms.
He therefore maintained that accurate airport identification was important to prevent confusion among passengers, airlines and other industry stakeholders.
As part of the request, the federal government proposed several possible replacement codes, including OSU, OSB, SUB and QSB, subject to IATA’s coding requirements and the availability of the preferred designation.
The government acknowledged that the final decision rests with IATA and that any new code must comply with the association’s established procedures.
Keyamo said changing the designation would help reinforce the airport’s identity and minimise possible confusion for passengers and other users of the facility.
Beyond the request to IATA, the minister has directed airlines operating at the airport to ensure that passenger-facing documents correctly identify the facility as Osubi, Delta State.
The directive covers flight tickets, baggage tags, boarding passes and other relevant travel documents.
Keyamo also directed the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and other relevant aviation bodies to update their systems and official records where necessary.
The agencies are expected to ensure that the Osubi designation is consistently used in operational systems, publications, records and other aviation interfaces.
The minister stressed that the geographical distinction should be clearly maintained, stating: “Osubi is not Warri and Warri is not Osubi.”
The federal government hopes that the proposed change will give Osubi Airport a clearer identity within Nigeria’s aviation system and ensure that its official location is accurately represented in domestic and international travel platforms.
