The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, has asked the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to review the existing “QRW” location code assigned to Osubi Airport in Delta State, stressing that the designation does not accurately reflect the airport’s official name and geographical location.
Keyamo made the request in a letter addressed to the IATA Area Manager for West and Central Africa, Dr. Samuel Fatokun, on Monday, August 17, 2026.
The minister said Osubi Airport, which has the ICAO four-letter location indicator DNSU, is physically located in Osubi town, near Warri, Delta State.
He noted that although the airport is sometimes informally referred to as “Warri Airport” because it serves the Warri metropolitan area, its established geographical designation remains Osubi Airport.
According to Keyamo, the continued use of the IATA code QRW, which is associated with the broader Warri identity, does not adequately reflect the airport’s actual name and physical location.
He therefore asked IATA to commence a formal review of the existing code and, subject to its coding standards and availability, consider a three-letter designation with a clearer connection to Osubi.
Among the possible codes suggested for consideration are OSU, OSB, SUB and QSB, although the minister acknowledged that the final designation would be determined by IATA based on its established procedures and available combinations.
Keyamo said aligning the airport’s IATA code with its official name and physical location would strengthen its identity and reduce possible confusion among passengers and other stakeholders.
He added that the move would also 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 passenger-facing documents, including flight tickets, luggage tags and boarding passes, properly identify the airport as Osubi, Delta State.
He also directed the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency and other relevant aviation agencies to ensure that the proper designation is consistently reflected in their systems, records, publications and operational interfaces.
Keyamo stressed that the clarification was not intended to diminish the airport’s role in serving the wider Warri metropolitan area.
Rather, he said it was aimed at ensuring geographical and operational accuracy in the identification of the airport.
The minister put the position of the Federal Government bluntly: “Osubi is not Warri and Warri is not Osubi.”
The Federal Government, he added, remained committed to ensuring that Nigeria’s aviation infrastructure, locations and operational information were accurately represented in both national and international aviation systems.
