Nigeria’s domestic aviation market has struggled to expand as high airfares continue to prevent many Nigerians from travelling by air, according to the President of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Nigeria, Dr Alex Nwuba.
He said the country records about 15 million passenger journeys on domestic routes each year, but the figure largely comes from a relatively small group of frequent travellers rather than 15 million individual passengers.
Nwuba, who is also the Second Vice President of the Aviation Safety Roundtable Initiative, said the market would remain limited unless air travel became more affordable. “These 15 million passenger trips we keep talking about are really generated by about one million people. It is the same group of people flying year after year. We will not move beyond that number until flying becomes more affordable and more Nigerians can participate,” he said.
His comments followed the failure of all nine scheduled Nigerian domestic airlines to secure a place among Africa’s top 10 carriers in the 2026 Skytrax World Airline Awards. Industry experts have linked the sector’s challenges to high operating expenses and weak passenger demand, while Nwuba identified multiple charges imposed by government agencies as a major factor driving up the cost of air travel.
“The government needs to restructure the entire industry. There are too many people with their hands in the pot, and they are free to charge whatever they like. Those costs are eventually passed on to the flying public,” he said. Nwuba explained that airlines need higher passenger numbers to spread their substantial operating costs, but expensive tickets discourage potential travellers, creating a cycle of low demand and limited revenue.
He said reducing airfares could attract more passengers, expand the domestic aviation market and strengthen airline revenues. According to him, greater access to affordable flights would also support business, tourism, education, medical travel and other economic activities that depend on movement across the country.
Nwuba therefore urged the Federal Government to review and rationalise taxes, levies and other charges imposed on airlines, alongside targeted measures to reduce operating expenses.
“Costs must be brought down through structural adjustment in the industry. Government has a role to play. Around the world, governments provide different forms of support to strategic sectors, and aviation should not be an exception,” he said, warning that continued cost increases, foreign exchange pressures and rising maintenance expenses could force airlines to reduce their operations.