The total number of passengers that passed through Nigeria’s airports in 2022 increased to 16, 172, 433—higher than the 15 million-passenger movement in 2021.
This information was according to statistics released by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
The document obtained from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority showed that in 2022, 26 airlines carried out a total of 13,003 international operations to and from Nigeria, while 11 airlines operated 80,328 domestic flights.
The data also revealed that there were 4,628 delays and 82 canceled flights on the international operations, while the number of domestic operations was 47,144, with international operations recording 31 air returns and 48,234 baggage delays, compared to domestic operations’ 91 air returns, and 449-delayed bags.
The data also disclosed flight cancellations and delays, both for international and domestic flight operations, in the period of January to December 2022,
The airline with the highest number of delays on the domestic scene, according to flights operated and delayed as well as passenger traffic, was Overland Airways.
The airline operated 2926 flights with 2451 delays, accounting for 84% of the delays and 11 cancellations in its operations. It was followed by Azman Air, which had a 69% delay percentage as it operated 3,713 flights and had 2,555 delays with 82 flight cancellations.
Arik Air came next on the list with 9,750 flights and 6,440 delays, accounting for 66% of its delays and 110 cancellations.
United Airlines had 42 cancellations, 6,097 flights, and 4,000 delays, for a 66% delay rate.
Dana Air’s operations had 2,906 delays from 4,440 flights at a rate of 65%, with 24 flights canceled, while Air Peace operations had 24,449 flights delayed, 14,908 also averaging 61%, and 129 cancellations.
Aero Contractors, which operated 3,106 times, had 1,889 delays and 99 cancellations; its delay percentage was also 61%, while Green Africa operated 4,648 flights with 2111 delays and 79 cancellations for a delay percentage of 45%.
For international operations, Cronos had the lowest number of flights at 53, but led the pack with 41 delays at a 77% delay rate, while it was followed by Turkish Airlines, which operated 654 flights into Nigeria in 2022, with 420 delays at 64%.
In addition, Kenya Airways had 344 flights to Nigeria with 60% delays, 205 of which were delayed. Air Cote D’ Voire operated 609 times into Nigeria with 314 delays at 52%, while EgyptAir equally followed with 706 flights into Nigeria with 350 delays, which was a 50% delay rate.
According to the NCAA, in 2021, the number of international flight departures through Nigerian airports increased by 54.7%, to 1,109,525 from 717,261 in 2020.
Travel expert and the organizer of Akwaaba African Travel Market, Ambassador Ikechi Uko, told reporters about factors that could be responsible for the increase in international passenger movement. He said one of such factors was pent-up travel, saying since the lockdown in 2020, many people have stayed away from travel due to hiccups created by COVID-19 airport protocols, which were significantly eased in many countries in 2022, and that prompted many people to travel.
Uko also mentioned the “Japa Syndrome,” which increased the number of outbound international passengers in 2022 to 1,855,467, a record increase of over 700,000 over 2021’s total of 1,109,525 passengers.
On the domestic market, the organizer of Akwaaba Africa Travel Market said insecurity forced many to choose air travel as the only option, economic activities pushed more people to the airports, and the third factor was political campaigns in preparation for the 2023 elections.
During the period, which was between January and December 2022, domestic airlines airlifted a total of 12, 668, and 741 passengers, made up of 6, 309, 664 inbound, and 6, 359, 077 outbound passenger movements, respectively. When combined with international passenger traffic, the country recorded 16,172,433 passenger movements in the period under focus.
