Maiduguri — After 18 months of closure, commercial airline operations resumed yesterday at the Maiduguri International Airport.

The airport was closed to commercial operations over a deadly Boko Haram attack on the 79 Composite Group of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) base on December 2, 2013.

The attack equally affected some facilities at the nearby Maiduguri airport and several attempts by the Borno State government to fast-track the reopening of the facility failed.

However, Medview Airline launched its inaugural flight which landed at the airport with Gov. Kashim Shettima and the Chief Executive Officer of MedView, Alhaji Munir Alamin Bankole, as well as 80 passengers on board.

Shettima said the arrival of the aircraft heralds the resumption of full local and international flights, including the airlifting of Muslim pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.

"This bears testimony to the cordial relationship between the federal government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari and Borno State. It was quite regrettable that our people were denied flight services, not just because of the Boko Haram insurgency but for some obvious political reasons," the governor noted.

"Flights get in and out of Bagdad, Kabul and Damascus airports, and there was no any other reason for anyone to close this airport for political reason," he added.

"Our intending pilgrims from now on will no more travel by road to any of the airports in Gombe, Kano and Bauchi to be airlifted for their pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia," Shettima said.

He thanked MedView management for having the courage to resume operations and assured of adequate patronage by Borno people.