By Ayo Susan
Nigeria’s air passenger traffic reached more than 18.8 million domestic and international passengers in 2025, an 11.9 percent year-on-year increase, reinforcing the country’s position as Africa’s fourth-largest aviation market.
DEVELOPMENT
The disclosure was made by Olubunmi Onabanjo-Kuku, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), at the Airports Council International (ACI) Africa Regional Conference and Exhibition 2026 in Abuja, where she spoke as Vice-President of ACI Africa.
“Our aviation market now ranks as the fourth-largest in Africa, with over 18.8 million domestic and international passengers recorded in 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of 11.9 percent,” she said.
The conference, themed “Next-Gen Airports: Driving Performance and Resilience”, brought together airport executives, regulators, financiers and technology providers.
Onabanjo-Kuku described the theme as “a strategic mandate” and “a call to action” for African aviation.
DATA
International passenger demand among African airlines increased 6.4 percent year-on-year in July 2026, compared with a 0.1 percent global decline, while total African passenger demand rose 5.2 percent.
Nigeria’s scheduled airline capacity reached 1.19 million seats in September, 37.4 percent above the corresponding period of the previous year. Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, recorded a 24.1 percent increase in scheduled seat capacity.
Onabanjo-Kuku attributed the expansion partly to currency reforms, aircraft leasing arrangements and renewed confidence among international airlines.
“Since the current Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development took office, several airlines have resumed operations in Nigeria, and more are expected soon,” she said.
SIGNIFICANCE
The passenger increase strengthens the economic case for airport investment, but it also exposes structural constraints facing Nigerian aviation.
Industry expert, Samuel Caulcrick, argued that higher passenger volumes do not automatically translate into stronger domestic airlines.
“Without protectionism, Nigerian airlines are not protected against foreign carriers that dominate the market. Both pay the same charges, but foreign carriers have one decisive advantage: lower cost of capital. That is the entire imbalance,” he said.
Onabanjo-Kuku said that Africa still accounts for only about one percent of global air traffic, despite its population and growth potential.
“In Nigeria alone, with a population exceeding 220 million, we record approximately 19.5 million passengers annually across 28 airports. The potential is vast, but the gap between where we are and where we could be remains substantial. This is not a reason for despair; it is a reason for deliberate, strategic action,” she said.
NEXT MOVE
The focus now shifts to airport capacity, domestic airline financing, connectivity, infrastructure quality and the ability to sustain affordable charges while funding modern facilities.
FAAN is rehabilitating runways and terminals, upgrading airfield lighting and deploying digital systems, including automated e-passport gates and passenger-data analytics. The authority also secured ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015 certifications in January 2026, while more than 3,500 personnel have undergone ICAO and ACI training.
OUR LENS
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, framed the next phase around resilience rather than simply building larger airports.
“The airport of the future cannot simply be a larger terminal building. A next-generation airport must be safe, efficient, financially sustainable, technologically enabled, environmentally responsible and capable of adapting to disruption,” he said.
“Resilience therefore cannot be an afterthought. It must be designed into our airports, our systems, our business models and our institutions.”
Keyamo added, “Technology is only meaningful when it makes a person’s journey safer, easier, faster and more dignified. We must therefore build smart airports with human hearts.”
He cited Nigeria’s 91.45 percent Effective Implementation score following the 2026 ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission and highlighted the rehabilitation and expansion of Terminal 1, Lagos.
“An airport is not simply a place where aircraft land and take off. It is an economic ecosystem. It creates employment, supports tourism and logistics, attracts investment, facilitates trade and connects businesses to markets.”
The deeper issue is whether rising passenger demand can be converted into a more competitive aviation value chain, with stronger Nigerian airlines, modern airports, better connectivity and greater private-sector investment.
Ayo Susan is a journalist, covering business, infrastructure, insurance, technology, society and emerging developments with an emphasis on credible and engaging storytelling.
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