The disclosure that 19 out of the nation’s 22 airports are not viable has underscored the need to suspend the ongoing plans to build new airports by some state governors. The Managing Director of Federal Airport Authority (FAAN), Olubunmi Kuku, recently revealed that Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja; Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano and Port Harcourt International Airport contributed N529.68billion in exports and N5.05trillion in imports between January 2020, and March 2024.
While the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos generated the highest amount of N2.59trillion, Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja made N740.75billion. Similarly, the Aminu Kano International Airport and Port Harcourt International Airport generated N743billion and N112.38billion, respectively. According to the FAAN boss, the remaining 19 airports were being subsidised because of insufficient passenger traffic and rising operational costs.
However, the MD of FAAN did not disclose the amount of revenue generated by the unviable 19 airports. We believe that providing such vital information would have enabled Nigerians to properly assess the situation and proffer solution. Considering the importance of air travel and the need to further develop the sector, the Federal Government should continue to maintain the affected airports and strive to upgrade their facilities.
The government should continue to subsidise these airports until they become viable. The prospect for their viability is high. Providing efficient transportation system, including air transportation, for the people is one of the duties of the government. Government should not abdicate this responsibility. It is worth pointing out that some of the affected airports have no night landing facilities. Some don’t even have scanning machines. This and other factors might have contributed to their being financially unviable.
If these airports are adequately maintained, there is no doubt that they will boost tourism and generate more revenues. The rise in airfares might have contributed to low patronage of some of the airports. At the same time, some of the airports are located very close to older airports which passengers prefer.
Let the government put measures in place to boost air travel within the country. One of the measures is to reduce the airfares, which are so high that many passengers could not afford them. Since some of the unviable airports were built by state governments, let the affected states contribute to subsidising them. Efforts should be made to put in these airports facilities for night landing. Some of their runways need to be modernised and enlarged to accommodate cargo planes. Instructively, some of them are categorised as cargo airports.
The FAAN management should be creative in running these airports and making them viable. Sensitising the public about their services is one way of attracting passenger traffic. Some of the listed unviable airports are in Asaba, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Ekiti, Anambra, Abia, Damaturu, and Dutse. The rest are in Kebbi, Zamfara, Nasarawa and Gombe. Lso included in the list are Enugu, Kano, Kaduna, Benin, Owerri, Jos, Sokoto, Maiduguri, Yola, Bauchi, Akure, Ibadan, Ilorin, Calabar, Minna and Katsina.
Despite the unviability of some of the nation’s airports, some state governors are rushing to build more airports. While we are not basically against the building of new airports where absolutely necessary, it should not be bastardised as some governors are doing now. The governors should be discouraged to build new airports and be advised to face other urgent issues that affect their states such as revamping the education sector as well as putting in place a functional healthcare delivery system, among others.
There is urgent need for a moratorium on the building of new airports. Furthermore, new airports should not be built very close to existing ones. There is need to consider their economic viability before contemplating building new airports. It is also possible that the lingering insecurity across the country might be responsible for the non-viability of some of these lowly patronised airports. Undoubtedly, investors and tourists travel to places with adequate security and high return on investment. Tackling frontally the rising insecurity will boost tourism and air travel.
Although the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has announced that the 19 airports might be open for concession, we tend to disagree with him. Rather, we suggest that the federal government must do everything within its powers to ensure that these airports are attractive to passengers, functional and viable. The idea of concession should be ruled out for now.