United Nigeria Airlines has officially crossed into international aviation, launching direct non-stop services from Abuja and Lagos to Accra, Ghana, in what marks the carrier’s first operation outside Nigerian airspace since it began commercial flights in February 2021.
Flight NUA 0590 departed the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on November 10, 2025, and arrived at Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana, completing what stands as a direct capital-to-capital service between Nigeria and Ghana operated by a Nigerian private carrier. The Lagos route launched the same day, connecting two of West Africa’s most active economic corridors through a single airline.
United Nigeria Airlines was founded in February 2021 with a clear but measured ambition: to unite Nigerian cities through safe, reliable air travel. It launched its maiden flight on February 12, 2021, on the Lagos-Enugu route with four narrow-body Embraer ERJ-145 aircraft. Five years on, the airline connects 16 cities across Nigeria, has airlifted over 2.5 million passengers, and has achieved International Air Transport Association membership alongside IOSA safety certification, all within two years of operations.
The Accra launch is the most visible sign yet of an airline that has chosen steady, deliberate growth over speed. It is also the opening move in a significantly larger international expansion the airline has set in motion for 2026, with six additional regional and continental routes, including Dakar, Monrovia and Johannesburg, expected to come online in the second quarter of the year. Plans are also at an advanced stage for flights to Dubai, Jeddah, Rome, New York and the United Kingdom by summer 2026.
The architect of this expansion is the airline’s Chairman, Professor Obiora Okonkwo, whose five-year stewardship of the carrier has guided it from a single domestic route into a growing regional presence. At the airline’s fifth anniversary press briefing in Lagos, held under the theme “From Vision to Velocity,” Okonkwo laid out an ambitious roadmap that positions United Nigeria Airlines as a future continental aviation powerhouse.
Under his leadership, the airline has pursued a fleet expansion strategy built around widebody capability. It has acquired six Boeing 737-800 Next Generation aircraft from Southwest Aviation in the United States, with deliveries beginning in March 2026. Two Airbus A330-200 wide-body jets have also been leased from Anka Aviation in Turkey to support long-haul operations, with the first delivery scheduled for July 26, 2026, and the second arriving between July and October. When all acquisitions are complete, the airline’s fleet will have grown from 10 to 21 aircraft.
Okonkwo has also driven structural upgrades within the airline’s operations. United Nigeria Airlines has transitioned from equivalent maintenance systems to an Approved Maintenance Organisation structure, a precursor to the in-house Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul facility it plans to establish within three years. In March 2026, the airline was also admitted into the IATA Clearing House, a financial settlement network that will ease interline agreements and codeshare partnerships with international carriers, clearing a critical path toward competing on long-haul routes.
The airline’s international push has received regulatory backing from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, and Okonkwo has acknowledged the importance of broader infrastructure cooperation, calling on federal authorities to develop transit facilities at the Lagos and Abuja airports, which he described as essential for making Nigeria a genuine aviation hub in West and Central Africa.
“This inaugural regional flight is not merely a business expansion; it is a bridge between nations,” Okonkwo said at the launch of the Accra route. “United Nigeria Airlines is proud to play a role in deepening economic, social and cultural ties within West Africa.”
With the Accra route now operational and a widebody fleet on the way, United Nigeria Airlines is entering a new phase. The airline has also announced plans to list on the Nigerian Exchange within three years, a move Okonkwo said will strengthen corporate governance and open the carrier to broader public investment.
From four aircraft on a single domestic route to an airline with intercontinental ambitions, United Nigeria Airlines is now flying with the wind behind it.
Mr. Samuel Agboola is a member of the editorial team of TheScript Newspapers
