Addressing High Mortality Rate of Airlines

Chinedu Eze

Former Managing Director/CEO of Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCOL) Plc and currently Lead Consultant/CEO of The Onward Public Relations, Basil Agboarumi, has identified key factors responsible for the high mortality rate of Nigerian airlines.

He attributed it to high operational cost and lack of intentionality by government to protect the operators.

Agboarumi also attributed the high mortality rate of Nigerian airlines to astronomical cost of operations, high and multiple taxation, saying that over the last four decades, more than 100 Nigerian airlines have gone under.

“Between 2000 and 2020, the average lifespan of a Nigerian airline was calculated at just five years. In the last 25 years alone, over 30 airlines have closed shop, with the likes of ADC Airlines, Afrijet, Albarka Air, Bellview, Chanchangi, Sosoliso, and Virgin Nigeria joining the graveyard of airlines.
“Nigeria has produced over 100 airlines in four decades, and their average operational lifespan is between five and ten years. Some, like Aero Contractors (founded 1959), have defied the odds, but they are exceptions that prove the rule,” he said. According to him, the reasons for the short life span are “not mysterious”.

He said: “Fuel costs are believed to account for 35 – 40 per cent of airline revenue in Nigeria. A Lagos – Abuja return flight requires about 8,000 litres of fuel, costing approximately eight million naira before a single salary or maintenance bill is paid. Add to this the exchange rate trap: Jet A-1 and aircraft leases are dollar-denominated, while airlines earn in naira. When the naira slides, costs balloon, while revenue dwindles. “Then there is the C-check problem. Every 18 months, each aircraft requires a maintenance check costing between $1 million and $3 million. With no heavy maintenance facilities in Nigeria, aircraft must be ferried abroad, draining foreign exchange and grounding capacity for weeks.”

The former SAHCO boss however said that there was high record of air safety in Nigeria, noting that Nigeria has recorded only two fatal accidents in the past 10 years, giving it the best aviation safety record in Africa.

He said that Nigeria first earned US FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) Category One status in August 2010, retained it in 2014 and 2017, and has undergone ICAO audits with no Significant Safety Concerns (SSC) or Significant Security Concerns (SSeC).

However, in September 2022, the FAA implemented a policy revision that de-listed countries that had not provided indigenous airline services to the US or carried a US operator’s code within a two-year period. Nigeria was de-listed – not because of safety deficiencies, but because no Nigerian carrier was flying to the US.
He stated that the Nigeria’s safety oversight was compliant with international standards, adding that the de-listing is a commercial and diplomatic issue, not a safety verdict.

On unionism in the aviation sector, Agboarumi observed that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Act 2023 contains clauses that aviation unions have described as anti-labour, including restrictions on the right to strike and picket.

“In mature aviation markets, unionism is institutionalised and regulated. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) protects the right to freedom of association. In the US, the Railway Labor Act governs airline labour relations, requiring mediation before strikes. In Europe, union participation in airline governance is common.
“Collective bargaining protects workers welfare, ensures safety standards are maintained, and provides a structured channel for grievance resolution. Unregulated strike action can cripple operations. When unions become politicised, they can hold the industry hostage,” he said.

On taxation, Agboarumi said the airline operators have consistently complained of multiple taxation.

“The five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) was introduced over 45 years ago. The question of whether the defunct Nigerian Airways paid this charge is instructive: it did not, because the charge was introduced specifically to fund the regulator after the national carrier’s decline.

“Beyond the TSC, airlines face charges from Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) (navigation), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) (landing and parking), Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMet) (weather), and various state government levies. In 2026, the NCAA projected N1.129 trillion from TSC and Cargo Sales Charge alone,” Agboarumi further said.
According to him, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Document 8632, which deals with policies on taxation, urges member states to eliminate taxes on international air transport and ensure that levies generated from aviation are reinvested in the sector. In Singapore, aviation revenue is reinvested  for infrastructure and safety upgrades.

“We recommend that Nigeria should move from percentage-based charges to fixed, transparent fees; automate remittance to eliminate leakages; and ring-fence a defined percentage of aviation revenue for infrastructure renewal,” he advised.
Agboarumi also spoke on ramp congestion, saying that the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, was built over 40 years ago and has seen no major structural expansion despite exponential growth, adding that in 1979, the airport handled about eight international flights; today it handles about 272 aircraft movements daily and about 32 international airlines.
“The NCAA’s reduction of Air Operator Certificate (AOC) acquisition time has accelerated airline licensing without commensurate infrastructure expansion. Professor Obiora Okonkwo of United Nigeria Airlines has recently warned that airport infrastructure may not cope with new operators,” he said and suggested that the way out of this is to introduce slot system for Lagos and Abuja airports. Then FAAN should adopt AI-powered ramp management to optimise aircraft parking, predict conflicts, and reduce blockages.

He suggested that operating hours should be extended to selected sunset airports in order to spread traffic (some sunset airports have airfield lighting) he also said that unserviceable aircraft should be removed from the ramps.
Agboarumi said there should be a review of taxes paid by airlines and there should be a check on the cost of aviation fuel in order to reduce cost of operation.

“Between February 28 and April 2026, the price of Jet A1 surged from N900 to N3,300 per litre – an increase of over 300 per cent. Airline Operators of Nigeria accused marketers of manipulation, noting that the increase did not correlate with global crude oil prices, which rose by only about 30 per cent.
“For an oil-producing country, this is a paradox. Nigeria refines almost none of its own jet fuel, relying on imports that are dollar-denominated. The cost of fuelling a single domestic flight skyrocketed from N2.1 million in January 2026 to about N7.6 million by April.

“The implications are, airlines are being decimated. One operator grounded its entire fleet in March 2026. Without intervention, the mortality rate will accelerate,” Agboarumi warned.

He said aviation contributed between $1.7 billion and $2.5 billion annually to Nigeria’s GDP, supporting over 216,000 jobs. Air transport accounts for approximately 2.5 per cent of GDP, with Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt representing over 70 per cent of sector contribution.

“Yet Nigeria has just 31 airports, 92 airstrips, and 131 heliports. Only three airports handle 92 per cent of all traffic, and only two are profitable. IATA requires at least five million passengers yearly for an airport to be viable; most Nigerian airports fall far short,” he said.

The former SAHCO Managing Director said Nigeria should adopt a hub-and-spoke model, ring-fence aviation revenue, and pursue strategic partnerships with global airport operators.

He said Nigerian airlines barely make profits because a large chunk of their revenue had been taken by major aircraft maintenance, adding that exchange rate volatility erodes whatever remains.