Nigeria’s domestic air travel declined in 2024, driven by aircraft shortages and soaring ticket prices that placed air travel out of reach for many passengers.

Data from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) shows a 10 percent drop in passenger traffic, with numbers falling from 12.05 million in 2023 to 11.55 million in 2024.

The decline was caused by foreign exchange shortages, escalating maintenance costs, and regulatory hurdles, which forced airlines to ground planes and reduce operations.

BusinessDay had reported that the high cost of spare parts and maintenance forced several airlines in Nigeria to park their planes across various airports last year.

BusinessDay learnt that foreign exchange scarcity also forced some airlines to take spare parts from one grounded plane to fix others and keep them flying.

Passengers travelling from Lagos to second-tier airports such as Ilorin, Akure, Asaba, Benin, Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, Ibadan and Yola did not have the luxury of choosing airlines to fly due to the persisting aircraft shortages at Nigerian airports.

Limited airplanes have forced airlines to either reduce frequencies or suspend operations in and out of second-tier routes, paying more attention to first-tier or frequently used routes to maximise economic benefits.

The situation saw some airlines dominantly control certain routes, limiting passengers’ choices and cutting jobs previously created by multiple airlines at the airports.

It also had cost implications for passengers.

In 2023, a fare from Lagos to any of the second tier airports stood at an average of N65,000, but last year, a one-way economy class ticket from Lagos to any of these destinations jumped to between N100,000 and N300,000.

Olumide Ohunayo, director of research at Zenith Travels, explained that disposable income is one of the factors why fewer Nigerians travel by air, adding that there is a reduction in patronage.

According to Ohunayo, domestic travel is not generally improving for Nigerians but disposable income is not the only reason.

“Many airlines that operate into Calabar do not operate on a daily basis. Air Peace two times a week. Aero, twice a week. It is only Ibom Air that operates every day and with the 50-seater aircraft.

“So, there is still that mismatch between the product we are offering and the airport itself and the positions available. And we cannot continue to expect any miracle because disposable income is not enough. We also need to begin to work on the regulations. And in doing that, we have advocated a new regime of licenses should be done to encourage those other airports,” he said (BusinessDay)