Nigeria’s aviation market has become the fourth-largest in Africa, with more than 18.8 million domestic and international passengers recorded in 2025, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has said.
FAAN also disclosed that passenger traffic in the country increased by 11.9 per cent year-on-year in 2025.
The Managing Director of FAAN, Olubunmi Onabanjo-Kuku, made this known while speaking at the 2026 Airports Council International (ACI) Africa Regional Conference and Exhibition in Abuja.
The conference was themed, “Next-Gen Airports: Driving Performance and Resilience.”
According to Onabanjo-Kuku, Nigeria’s aviation sector is benefiting from the broader growth recorded across the African aviation market.
She said data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) showed that African airlines recorded a 6.4 per cent year-on-year increase in international passenger demand in July 2026.
She noted that the growth was recorded at a time when global international passenger demand declined by 0.1 per cent during the same period.
Onabanjo-Kuku added that overall passenger demand across Africa increased by 5.2 per cent, placing the continent behind only Latin America and the Caribbean in terms of growth.
She said Nigeria was contributing significantly to the continent’s aviation expansion.
“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 per cent,” she said.
The FAAN managing director also highlighted the performance of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
She said the airport recorded the fastest growth in scheduled seat capacity among Africa’s 10 largest airports in September, with a 24.1 per cent increase.
She added that the oldest terminal at the airport was currently undergoing rehabilitation and upgrading.
On the country’s scheduled airline capacity, Onabanjo-Kuku said data from OAG showed that Nigeria recorded 1.19 million scheduled airline seats in September 2026.
According to her, the figure represents a 37.4 per cent increase compared with the same period in 2025 and was the fastest growth among Africa’s top 10 aviation markets.
She said the continued development of the aviation industry required investment beyond airport infrastructure.
Onabanjo-Kuku identified predictive maintenance, reliable power supply, digital operational systems and data analytics as important areas for improving airport performance.
She also stressed the need for operational resilience, saying airports must be prepared to respond quickly and effectively to disruptions.
According to her, resilience should be built into airport operations through redundancy, agility, intelligence and effective communication.
She further identified human capital as a major factor in the development of the aviation sector.
She said the industry needed a competent and continuously learning workforce capable of managing an increasingly complex airport environment.
Onabanjo-Kuku also called for stronger partnerships between government and private-sector stakeholders.
She said government resources alone would not be enough to meet the investment, technology and expertise requirements of the aviation industry.
She therefore urged greater collaboration with private investors, airlines, technology companies, logistics firms and development finance institutions to support the continued growth of Nigeria’s aviation sector.
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