Experts: Nigeria Air Travel Growth Stagnant in the Last Ten Years

Chinedu Eze

Despite having the highest indigenous travelers in Africa, Nigeria has one of the poorest growth records in air travel both on international and domestic routes in the last 10 years, aviation experts and stakeholders have said.
According to estimates, about 99 per cent of people who travel from Nigeria to international destinations are Nigerians, unlike in many countries in Africa, where tourists and other expatriates constitute major air travel publics.
Investigations revealed that on the domestic route, after improved growth, from 2016, which peaked in 2019 before the COVID-19 interregnum, the figures have continued to hover around 12 million, while the international passenger movement has stayed around 4 million.
Compared to countries close to Nigeria in terms of economy in Africa, like Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, passenger growth has remained stagnant over the years.
Nigeria recorded improved growth of 6.3 per cent in 2016 with total 15, 232, 597 passenger traffic, but this declined by 8.039 per cent in 2017 with passenger traffic of over 13 million.  It later increased to 17, 320, 438 in 2018, and peaked before COVID-19 to reach 18.1 million in 2019, which was an increase of 23.19 per cent.
This was made of domestic passenger traffic of 12, 791, 639 and international passenger movement of 4, 438, 799.
In 2024 passenger traffic declined by 6.46 per cent to a little over 12.54 million domestic passenger traffic, while and international passenger traffic was 4.37 million, driven by high demand and migration, which brings to a total of 15.7 million, down from 15.9 million in 2023. The figures indicate fluctuating growth and decline, which reflects the undulating nature of air travel in Nigeria, propelled by intemperate economic growth, foreign exchange and the value of the local currency.
Egypt’s air travel passenger growth between 2016 and 2025 experienced significant recovery post-pandemic, culminating in a record-breaking in 2025, where Cairo International Airport alone handled over 30 million passengers and nationwide tourist arrivals reached 19 million, a 21 per cent increase from 2024