Aviation Stakeholders Identify Nigeria as Most Competitive Market in Africa

Chinedu Eze

Nigeria has been identified as the most competitive market in Africa, following the increase in its international passenger throughput year-on-year.

Apart from Nigerian experts, foreign airlines operating in Nigeria have described the nation’s international travel market as the most competed for in Africa.

This submission is supported by the progressively increasing passenger throughput year-on-year and the multi-designation of international carriers that operate to Nigeria.

In 2025, the total number of in-bound and outbound passengers travelling to international destinations from Nigeria peaked at about 4.85 million.

20 foreign airlines operate about 200 flights weekly from Nigeria through its major gateways in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt airports.

Passenger throughput increased by 12.01 per cent from 2024, which has a total arrival and departure passengers of 4.33 million, according to the harmonised passenger movement report released by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

This was also a 6.48 per cent increase from 2023, which had a total number of 4.07 million passengers.

The records show yearly increase, which is an indication that despite the undulating economic growth, more Nigerians travel overseas.

There are indications that the 2026 international passenger throughput will be higher than the previous years because data from Official Aviation Guide (OAG), indicated that total scheduled airline capacity into and out of Nigeria reached 1.19 million seats in September 2026, reflecting a 37.4 per cent surge compared to the same period in the previous year.

Also, in terms of hub performance, the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos, led airport performance metrics with a 24.1 per cent increase in scheduled seat capacity, representing the fastest growth among Africa’s ten largest aviation hubs.

Industry insiders said foreign airlines literally scramble for the Nigerian routes because it remained lucrative without significant competition from local carriers.

As a result, foreign airlines dominate over 90 per cent of the country’s international passenger market, as indicated by data from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria.

A core group of roughly 18 to 20 foreign airlines, led by giants like Ethiopian Airlines, Emirates, British Airways, and KLM, operate over 200 weekly frequencies, pulling in an estimated $1.7 billion in revenue annually from the Nigerian market.

The staggering financial success of foreign carriers on Nigerian routes stems from several unique market realities, which include premium cabin demands.

Unlike many global markets where economy class keeps flights aloft, the Nigerian market is famous for its high “load factor” across all cabins. Business and First-Class sections consistently fill up with corporate executives, government officials, and high-net-worth individuals, which exponentially maximizes profit-per-seat margins.

In terms of yield, industry analysts note that Nigerian routes offer some of the highest yields per mile globally. Historically, international tickets out of Nigeria are priced much higher compared to flights of similar or longer durations originating from neighboring West African countries.

There is limited local competition or reciprocity. Under Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASA), local airlines have the right to fly reciprocal routes. However, domestic constraints, including high funding costs, fleet sizes, and foreign exchange exposure, mean Nigerian carriers (such as Air Peace) capture less than 10 per cent of the international market. This leaves a vacuum that foreign carriers comfortably exploit.

As stated earlier, there is persistent passenger volume, driven by a vast global diaspora, resilient corporate oil and gas travel, and a naturally tech-savvy, globetrotting population.

This has made demand to remain robust despite oscillating macro-economic conditions.

THISDAY investigations also revealed that airfares remained high in Nigeria on the international routes because of high taxes. As reiterated by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), indicating that Nigeria ranks as one of the most expensive countries in Africa for air travel taxes.

IATA noted that international passengers pay an average of $180 in taxes and charges per ticket in Nigeria, compared to an African average of $68. Also, tickets face numerous overlapping fees from multiple regulatory agencies and airport authorities.

However, foreign airlines are of the view that the major challenge they face operating in Nigeria include weak naira, as operating expenses and global ticketing standards are pegged to hard currencies like US dollars, while local ticket sales are heavily impacted by exchange rate disparities.

But the international operators said there was growing confidence on the Nigerian routes, as international airline capacity into Nigeria has risen significantly (with scheduled capacity up over 37 per cent), driven by broader economic reforms and increased confidence from international carriers resuming or expanding operations. 

However, foreign airlines said they have historically faced issues with poor airport infrastructure, policy inconsistencies, obsolete navigational aids and poor communication system. But despite these hurdles, the sheer volume of traffic and strong ticket sales, keep global heavyweights like British Airways, Emirates, and Qatar Airways, heavily invested in Nigerian routes.

IATA stated that international air traffic accounted for 23 per cent of total origin-destination (O-D) departures for Nigeria in 2023, equal to 2.1 million passenger departures. Europe is the largest international market for passenger flows from Nigeria, followed by Africa and North America. Almost 780,700 passengers departed from Nigeria to a country in Europe (38 per cent of the total), 485,400 to another country in Africa (23 per cent of the total), and 373,000 to North America (18 per cent of the total).

Executive Secretary of Aviation Round Table (ART), Olu Fidel Ohunayo, confirmed to THISDAY that the Nigerian route remained highly competitive.

He however said the domination of the route by foreign airline would emasculate domestic carriers that may not be able to compete, unless government puts up policies to protect them as it is done in other countries.

“We just have to empower our airlines to be able to compete. We must find a way around it. Whether we want to call it a merger, or whether we want to call it soft capital, assets to capital, sovereign support, whatever it is,” he said.

Ohunayo als said: “An airline came recently to Abuja to report that it was going to operate into Lagos after discussing its partnership with one of our carriers. And then in Abuja, they were offering that airline that has already chosen Lagos to also fly to Abuja as well. That is not right.”

However, industry analyst and consultant, Amos Akpan, said that such a claim that Nigerian route is the most competed for by foreign airlines need further verification.

“Yes, there are lots more movements in Nigeria than in neighbouring countries. But it appears like these are just activities without growth or developmental pillars that do not translate to profitable businesses for operators in the aviation sector,” he said.

Meanwhile, no fewer than 11 foreign airlines operate to more than one airport in Nigeria. Aviation authorities granted these multi-destination entry rights to major global and regional carriers, allowing them to split flights between Nigeria’s primary international gateways: Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt, and Enugu.

Ethiopian Airlines operates the highest number of airports in Nigeria and records high load factor from many of the airports. The airline, which operates the youngest fleet, will soon add Port Harcourt to its destinations in Nigeria.

Qatar Airways operates a highly active network, serving four gateways: Lagos, Abuja, Kano, and Port Harcourt. British Airways operates direct flights to both Lagos and Abuja; Lufthansa connects Frankfurt from Lagos and Abuja, Air France/KLM operates mixed frequencies linking Europe with Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt.

Turkish Airlines operates multiple scheduled weekly flights landing in Lagos and Kano (with select frequencies tracking via Abuja).

Under the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, domestic airlines have been designated to operate to international destinations and government is supporting them, unlike in the past. Experts believe foreign airlines are going to have a field day on the Nigerian route for a long time before they will effectively face competition from indigenous carriers.