Ladoke Akintola International Airport. Photo Source: Punch
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Claim: X user claims flights were taken directly from Ibadan to London at Ibadan airport.
Verdict: False. DUBAWA’s findings revealed that although flights from Ibadan to London were available, they were not direct. There will be stopovers in cities such as Abuja, Istanbul, and Morocco, before reaching London. Air Peace and Royal Air Maroc also informed DUBAWA that there is no direct flight from Ibadan to London.
Full Text
In 2025, Punch newspaper reported that the Oyo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Dotun Oyelade, in a statement, announced that while local flights will resume operations at the Ladoke Akintola International Airport by the end of 2025, plans were in place to upgrade the airport to international standards.
The commissioner also stated that operations will begin in 2026, after the airport extends its runway from 2,400 meters to 3,000 meters and widens it from 45 meters to 60 meters to accommodate wide-body aircraft for international flights.
On Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, an X user claims that two major developments occurred in Oyo State, including its first direct international flight from Ibadan to London, and praised the state’s historic milestone.
“Ibadan recorded a historic milestone as its first international flight took off, making it possible to travel directly from Ibadan to London and strengthening the state’s global connectivity,” the X user wrote.
As of Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2026, the post has generated 29 comments, 93 retweets, 471 likes, and 15 bookmarks.
While some other X users pointed out that the flight was not direct, others lauded the Oyo State government for the development.
“You people should stop this fake news. No international flight left for the (UK) yesterday,” @priclessmaria argued.
“Abuja-Ibadan-Abuja-London,” @ManiaFG pointed out.
“From Ibadan to the UK. Governor Seyi Makinde, you do this one,” @olulade lauded.
Due to contrary opinions from other X users and the need to forestall any form of mis- or disinformation about the development, DUBAWA decided to verify the claim.
Verification
DUBAWA checked Skyscanner, a global travel platform that compares millions of prices for flights, hotels, etc., to see if there were any direct flights from Ibadan to London. We noticed that although anyone can board a London-bound flight from Ibadan airport, it would not be a direct flight. The flight schedule indicates stopovers in cities such as Abuja, Istanbul, and Morocco before reaching London.
We searched Expedia, a major travel agency, for a direct flight from Ibadan to London, but none were available.
DUBAWA contacted Air Peace to inquire whether there is a direct flight from Ibadan to London, but they replied that there is none.
“Kindly note that we do not operate directly from Ibadan to London, as we only operate from Ibadan to London with a one-stop at Abuja,” Air Peace responded.
DUBAWA also contacted Royal Air Maroc, another airline that conveys passengers from Ibadan to London, and they informed us that “we don’t have direct flights to/from Ibadan.”
We further contacted the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) regarding the X user’s claim, but as of the time of publication, we have not yet received a response.
Conclusion
DUBAWA’s findings showed that there is no direct flight from Ibadan to London, but that a stopover in cities such as Abuja, Istanbul, and Morocco is required to reach London. Therefore, the claim is false.
