The number of Domestic airline operators operating in the nation’s aviation sector has reduced from 23 to 12 in the last few years.
Also, passenger traffic has refused to grow beyond 15 million in the last two years, as aviation experts cite economic headwinds, among other factors fueling the stagnation.
LEADERSHIP gathered that aside from growing up to 16.2 million in the year 2022, passenger traffic dropped to 15.7 million in the years 2023 and 2024, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) website, showed that the country has 23 active scheduled airlines operating in the sector.
However, investigations by LEADERSHIP have shown that the airlines have shrunk due to some shutting down operations due to the current economic situation.
Airlines presently operating in Nigeria are nine: Air Peace Airline, Arik Air; Aero Contractor, Green Africa, Ibom Air, Max Air, Overland and United Nigeria Airlines.
Others are NG Eagle, Rano Air, ValueJet and XE Jet Airways.
In the last few years, airlines such as Azman, Dana, Unza, First Nation, and Med-View, among others, have shut down operations.
However, operators have attributed the high cost of aviation fuel, foreign exchange, and charges, among others, as factors responsible for the collapse of airlines in the country.
Speaking recently, the chairman of Air Peace Airline, Dr Allen Onyema, said Aviation fuel constitutes 85 per cent of the operational cost because of its increasingly rising cost.
He added that whatever money remains for the airlines after buying fuel, they use it to pay aviation agencies’ charges.
“Airlines must be supported for them to continue to operate. The federal government should declare an emergency in the industry by removing every form of tax to the airlines for a given period. The government can ask the agencies to collect an N1,000 flat rate. Because of the difficulty in operating in Nigeria, the domestic airlines are losing their pilots even to the airlines operating in neighbouring countries.
We are not asking for money from the government; we are asking for an enabling operating environment. We want to have airfield lighting at the airports so that we can land from 6pm; we want to have aviation fuel at affordable rates. It is only in Nigeria that the product is costly,” Onyema said.
However, speaking to LEADERSHIP, the secretary general of Aviation Round Table Initiative (ARTI) Olumide Ohunayo, said passenger traffic hasn’t grown past 15 million passengers yearly due to some policies of the federal government.
According to him, policies such as extending the hours of sunset airports as well as encouraging airlines to bring in small aircraft and remove age limits for those small aircraft or create a new class of AOCs for taxi operators.
He also attributed the volatility of the naira, as well as the floating of the naira, which depreciated the local currency against international currencies, as reasons for the crisis in the sector.
“The market is not growing as we haven’t gone past 15 million passengers, and we need to look at how to grow passenger traffic past 15 million, and that’s not the job of the airlines alone but the totality of the economy and in doing that, we must change our policies.
Policies such as extending the time of sunset airports that close at 6pm and encouraging airlines to bring in smaller aircraft as well as removing the age limits for those small aircraft or, in particular, creating a new class of AOCs for taxi operators. Those who will come with small aircraft with total seats of not more than 100. The entry and financial requirements should be reduced for these types of operators. Anytime their seats go beyond 100, they collect AOC like other operators, ” he stated.
Ohunayo, the head of Research & Corporate Travel, at Zenith Travel & Consul, said the volatility of the naira made travel a privilege and belonging to the higher class.
“I am sure you know that as the domestic Airline went down, so also did the non-scheduled sector and it was not the airlines’ policies alone that was causing problems in the sector but the volatility of the naira to the dollar, the floating of the naira to eliminate black market fuel change in price, also removal of subsidy brought inflationary that practically sent airlines or their equipment out of the market or hanging where ever it was – point of purchase, lease, repair – because the policy led to increase of naira from N400/$ to N1600/$1 and that affected the plans of most airlines based on the cost of hiring aircraft, cost of negotiating the aircraft to come in, engines, and other spares.”
On his part, the former commandant, Lagos Airport, Capt. John Ojikutu (rtd) said as domestic carriers are reducing, so also is passenger traffic in the country.
Ojikutu, an aviation analyst, said the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the airlines that were set up after COVID-19 should be queried on their plans to grow passenger traffic.
“Domestic Airlines would drop just as the passenger traffic is not growing. The passenger traffic that was projected in 2000 for 2020 was 20 million, but we are in 2025, and the highest traffic so far is 18 million, and that was before the COVID-19 era. The questions to ask the airlines that came in after the Covid19 and the NCAA are: what were their traffic projections in their business plans?
“What determined the NCAA approval of their business plans? It’s even been said that the NCAA needs a department for Research and Development to assist in determining the credibility of the business plans submitted by the commercial aviation services operators, especially the airlines and airports operators,” Capt Ojikutu stated.
Capt. Ojikutu further urged the NCAA to develop plans for the regulation of scheduled and unscheduled airlines to reduce incessant delays and cancellations of flights.
“More regular oversight and periodic audits of the airline’s compliance to the economic regulations are very necessary. When fares are increasing, the passenger traffic is dropping, and the number of Airlines is increasing, something should tell the regulatory authority that something is not adding up well.
“You can only improve capacity when there are demands. For six years, the number has been below 18m, but the capacity is being increased; it makes no economic sense.
“There are delays and cancellations, no interlining among the operating airlines and more airlines are being approved to come in. No economic sense.
‘NCAA should develop plans for the regulation of Scheduled and Unscheduled Airlines to reduce the incessant delays and cancellations of flights.”
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