Domestic airlines in Nigeria recorded a staggering 34,424 cases of flight disruptions in 2024, according to data released by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Okay.ng reports.
The figure, contained in the NCAA’s executive summary of domestic flight operations for the year, revealed that out of 70,543 scheduled flights within the country, 33,235 were delayed while 1,189 flights were cancelled outright.
Air Peace, Nigeria’s largest flag carrier, topped the list of airlines with the most disruptions. The airline recorded 7,619 delays and 333 cancelled flights across its operations.
Following closely was Arik Air, which operated 10,699 flights and recorded 5,027 delays and 215 cancellations. Ibom Air, another major player in the sector, operated 7,856 flights and experienced 2,739 delays and 140 cancellations.
Industry experts have pointed to systemic challenges as a root cause of the disruptions. Roland Iyayi, a senior member of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) and Chief Executive Officer of Top Brass Aviation Limited, attributed much of the delay to a significant loss of fleet capacity caused by airlines’ inability to access foreign exchange to retrieve aircraft sent abroad for major maintenance.
“I can cite a couple of local airlines with monies in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). They have put in bids, but have been unable to access dollars for over a year and a half, even two years,” Iyayi told Vanguard in an earlier interview.
“Rather than being able to bring back their aircraft some six, eight months ago, they have just been able to bring one aircraft through alternative sources. Government was able to address the needs of international airlines, but domestic airlines were not addressed. So, what you see is a situation where there is a shrinking capacity in the domestic market,” he added.
Similarly, Chris Aligbe, CEO of Belujane Konzult, decried the worsening schedule integrity of domestic carriers.
“We have no schedule integrity. The schedule integrity in Nigeria is very low. Before, it was 62 per cent, but it has declined completely. I think it is almost getting below 50 per cent,” Aligbe said.
“Flights are being cancelled everywhere. We have friends, they want to travel, their flights are cancelled. Even when they try to book in advance, they can’t get a place because it is full. The airlines lack capacity – equipment capacity and financial capacity,” he noted.
