Arik Air has airlifted 2,239,176 passengers between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024, a report sourced from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has confirmed.
The airline, which has been under the receivership of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) since 2017, despite its challenges, also operated 10,699 flights within the year under review, making it the second most active airline in terms of passenger traffic and flight operations in Nigeria, after Air Peace.
According to the report, the total number of air travellers in the domestic scene in 2024 was 11, 549,443 with inbound at 5,727,700 and outbound passengers at 5,821,743. This figure shows that Arik Air captured 19.3 per cent of the total passenger traffic for 2024, while it had 15.1 per cent of the total 70,543 flights operated by the 15 domestic airlines in the year under review.
The executive summary on International and Domestic Flight Operations 2024, as captured by the NCAA, indicated that Arik Air had 1,112,358 and 1,126,818 as inbound and outbound passengers for 2024, respectively, making it a total of 2,239,176 passengers ferried in 2024.
The monthly breakdown of the passenger traffic indicated that Arik Air had 37,772 inbound passengers and another 38,987 outbound passengers in January 2024, totalling 76,759 passengers. For February, the airline recorded 38,217 as inbound and 39,209 as outbound, totalling 77,426; for March, 37,183 as inbound and 37,642 as outbound, making it a total of 74,825; for April, 31,326 as inbound and 31,971 as outbound, making 63,297.
The airline in May 2024, also recorded 39,006 inbound and 39,765 outbound passengers, totalling 78,771 for the month, while June had 37,710 inbound and 38,617 outbound, totalling 76,327; July, 156,146 inbound and 159,044 as outbound, totalling 315,190; August, the airline recorded 153,080 as inbound and 144,259 as outbound, making it a total figure of 297,339 within the period.
For September, Arik Air recorded 143,396 as inbound and 145,096 as outbound, making it a total figure of 288,492; for October 129,506 as inbound and 133,330 as outbound, totalling 262,836; November, 252,448 as inbound and 255,578 as outbound, making it a total of 508,026, while December had 56,568 as inbound and 63,322 as outbound, making it a total of 119,890 passengers ferried within the period.
Also, a month-by-month breakdown of flights operated by Arik Air in 2024 showed that the airline had a total number of 380 flights in January 2024, 419 flights in February and 468 flights in March 2024.
Further breakdown showed that for April, the airline operated a total number of 340 flights; May, 374; June, 350, while it peaked in July, going as high as 1,403 flights in just one month.
Besides, in August, the airline operated 1,320 flights; in September, 1,352; in October, 1,266; in November, 2,442, while it operated a total of 585 flights in December 2024. The airline within the period also had a total number of complaints among air travellers, with just 190, with the majority being resolved by the airline.
The further breakdown of complaints indicated that for January, there were no single complaints from any of its air passengers ferried within the period, had just two complaints in February, while March recorded only one complaint.
April had four complaints: May, two; June, one; July, three; August received seven complaints; September, 28; October, 50; and November, 67, while December, 2024, recorded only 25 complaints from the flying public. Besides, Arik Air did not record a single baggage miss in 2024, with all 84 delayed baggage items, as indicated by the NCAA statistics, handed over to their owners.
Furthermore, unlike other domestic airline operators, Arik Air had only one overbooking/denied flight in its entire 10,699 flights in 2024. This was in October 2024.
The general secretary of the Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative, Olumide Ohunayo, said: “Arik Air’s performance in 2024 stands out as exceptional, despite the airline being under AMCON receivership. The data released by the regulatory authority ranked Arik as second in domestic passenger traffic, moving 2,239,176 passengers—a testament to its resilience and strategic management under challenging conditions.
“With a 13.4 per cent market share out of the 11.5 million total domestic passengers, Arik Air’s sustained dominance highlights its strong operational efficiency. This result demonstrates Arik’s operational stability under Receivership despite financial constraints, distractive litigations, fleet limitations, and regulatory challenges, the airline continued to deliver reliable air travel services, showing effective route management and passenger demand optimisation.
“It should be noted that Arik Air suffered severe disruptions due to a high court order grounding some of its aircraft last year when mediation was a better option to the instantaneous grounding by the executive.”
In his comment MD of Top Brass Aviation Limited, Roland Iyayi, said, “Arik Air transporting 2.2 million passengers and securing the second position in Nigeria’s domestic market, ahead of competitors like Ibom Air (1.3 million), Max Air (915,918), and Aero Contractors (964,900) is a huge and massive achievement, considering the disruptions the airline had suffered under receivership.
“Arik Air’s performance is remarkable given its limited access to fresh capital, ageing fleet, and regulatory hurdles tied to its receivership status.
“The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) strategic support deserves recognition for its crucial role in stabilising Arik Air, ensuring its continued operations, and maintaining confidence among passengers. Without AMCON’s intervention, the airline would not have remained a key player in Nigeria’s aviation industry. Arik Air’s ability to thrive under receivership reaffirms AMCON’s commitment to preserving jobs, sustaining economic contributions, and ensuring safe, reliable airline services for Nigerian travellers.”
