Osubi Is Not Warri: Keyamo Moves to Correct Airport’s IATA Location Code

The Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, has formally requested the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to review the existing three-letter location code, “QRW,” assigned to Osubi Airport in Delta State.

The Minister is seeking the adoption of a code that more accurately reflects the airport’s official name and geographical identity.

The request was contained in a letter signed by Keyamo and addressed to the IATA Area Manager for West and Central Africa, Dr. Samuel Fatokun.

Osubi Airport, which has the ICAO four-letter location indicator DNSU, is physically located in Osubi town, near Warri, Delta State. Although the airport is sometimes referred to informally as “Warri Airport” because of its service to the Warri metropolitan area, the Federal Government has emphasised that its appropriate geographical designation is Osubi Airport.

According to the Minister, the continued use of the IATA code QRW, which is associated with the broader Warri identity, does not sufficiently reflect the airport’s actual name and physical location.

Keyamo therefore requested IATA to initiate a formal review of the existing code and, subject to the association’s coding standards and availability, consider a three-letter designation with a clearer relationship to the name Osubi.

Among the possible alternatives proposed for consideration are OSU, OSB, SUB and QSB, while the Minister acknowledged that the final code would remain subject to IATA’s established procedures and the availability of suitable combinations.

The Minister said aligning the IATA code with the airport’s official name and physical location would strengthen its identity, reduce possible ambiguity for passengers and other stakeholders, and 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 flight tickets, luggage tags, boarding passes and other passenger-facing documents 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 the correct designation is consistently reflected across their systems, records, publications and operational interfaces.

The Minister stressed that the clarification was intended to promote geographical and operational accuracy and was not aimed at diminishing Osubi Airport’s role in serving the wider Warri metropolitan area.

He stated unequivocally: “Osubi is not Warri and Warri is not Osubi.”

The Federal Government said it remains committed to ensuring that Nigeria’s aviation infrastructure, locations and operational information are accurately represented in national and international aviation systems.

Tunde Moshood
Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the Honourable Minister