Nigerian pilot, Captain Susan Ekpoh, calls out Ogun State’s $800M Gateway International Agro-Cargo Airport for its undulating runway that “tests technique” and “shatters confidence”
Pilot Slams Ogun Gateway Airport Runway as Undulating and Confidence-Shattering Despite $800M Price Tag
A Nigerian corporate pilot has delivered a stinging professional critique of Governor Dapo Abiodun’s flagship Gateway International Agro-Cargo Airport in Ilisan-Remo, Ogun State, describing its runway as undulating and so technically challenging that it “shatters your confidence as a pilot.”
Captain Susan Ekpoh, who has been documenting her flights into lesser-known Nigerian airports on social media, shared an unflinching assessment after landing at the facility—one of the most hyped new aviation projects in recent years.
“The runway undulates,” she wrote bluntly. “Rising and dipping unevenly rather than maintaining the consistent flat gradient that international aviation standards demand.” She added that the airport “tests your technique”—a phrase that carries heavy weight in aviation circles, signaling unpredictability in an environment where precision is non-negotiable.
More alarmingly: “Landing at the facility shatters a pilot’s confidence.”
Her words strike hard against a project touted as world-class. The airport boasts a 4-kilometre runway—among the longest in West Africa—capable of handling wide-body aircraft like the Boeing 777 and Airbus A380. It features Category 1 approach lighting, Precision Approach Path Indicators (PAPI), Doppler VOR/DME navigation, a five-storey control tower with ADS-B transponders, and an 82,000-square-metre apron for 20 aircraft.
In December 2024, a joint team from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), and Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) inspected the site and declared the infrastructure “among the best in West Africa,” capable of rivaling global standards. The NCAA issued an Interim Aerodrome Operational Permit in August 2025, and commercial operations began in October 2025.
Yet Captain Ekpoh’s firsthand experience tells a starkly different story.
Her critique gains extra force from her broad perspective: she’s flown into obscure strips like Damaturu Airport (Yobe), Dutse International (Jigawa), Bauchi, Kashimbila Airstrip (Taraba), Minna (Niger), and Danbaba Suntai Airport (Jalingo)—many unknown to most Nigerians.
“Some of these airports I had never even heard of,” she noted. “Runways that test your technique. Some you visually scan for before landing. Nigeria is vast. And it looks very different from up here.”
Coming from a pilot who’s seen the full spectrum—from neglected relics to shiny new builds—her verdict on this heavily funded, freshly certified airport is especially damning.
Public reports have pegged the project’s cost at around $800 million, though the Ogun State government has released no audited breakdown, verified Naira figure, or line-by-line accounting. The lack of transparency only amplifies concerns: with such massive public investment, why does a professional pilot report serious technical flaws just months after commissioning?
Captain Ekpoh’s post has sparked urgent calls for accountability. Why did regulatory inspections miss an undulating runway that immediately unnerves an experienced aviator? Were assessments rigorous, or were shortcomings overlooked?
Aviation safety experts argue this demands answers from the NCAA, NAMA, and NiMet—agencies tasked with safeguarding Nigerian airspace.
The Ogun State government should commission an independent, internationally accredited runway inspection by a neutral body and publish full, unredacted results. A complete audited cost breakdown is equally essential to restore public trust.
Captain Ekpoh set out simply to share what Nigeria looks like from the cockpit. In one honest post about a single undulating runway, she’s forced a reckoning with one of the state’s proudest projects—and the regulators who certified it. The questions now hang in the air, waiting for clear, public answers.
See Captain Susan’s post on Instagram.
