Arik Air cabin crew wins 'King of the Air' contest

…As airline clinches three awards at 15th NIGAV

Adeyemi Adebote, Arik Air’s Cabin Crew member, has been crowned the 2026 King of the Air at the 15th Nigeria Aviation (NIGAV) Awards and Ministerial dinner held at the NIGAV Centre, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos at the weekend.

The airline also won two other awards at the prestigious NIGAV awards, which aimed at promoting unity, healthy competition, and growth within Nigeria’s aviation industry.

Olufemi Adesunloye, Arik Air’s Captain and First Officer Auwal Wali were selected winners in the prestigious Heroic Performance Recognition Award, while the airline won the Best Airline Passenger Front Desk Service Award.

The King of the Air competition was contested by Cabin Crew members from other airlines in Nigeria and Adebote’s victory is a testament to Arik Air’s investment in human capital development and adherence to strict regulatory processes.

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This is the third time an Arik Air Crew member will be winning the King of the Air contest. Patrick Ekehinde won the second edition of the competition in 2022 while Tyger Opunabo won the 2024 edition.

The heroic performance recognition award was given to Olufemi Adesunloye and First Officer Auwal Wali for their feat in safely landing the airline’s Boeing 737-800NG that suffered a mid-air engine explosion on February 11, 2026.

The award is a high-level recognition honour designed to celebrate individuals who exhibited extra-ordinary courage, composure, and effectiveness in critical situations.

The Best Airline Passenger Front Desk Award is for the airline’s friendliness and effective customer service from ticketing and check-in to boarding.

Commenting on the awards, Roy Ilegbodu, Arik Air’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are delighted with the awards, which reflect the high level of professionalism that defines our airline. We are grateful to the organisers of NIGAV for finding Arik Air worthy of these recognitions. We remain dedicated to maintaining and advancing the highest standards of efficiency within Nigeria’s aviation industry.”

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.