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…cites funding, infrastructure gaps, high operating costs as challenges
The Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Olubunmi Onabanjo-Kuku, has said that said Nigeria’s 28 airports handle about 19.5 million passengers a year, which is less than nine percent of the country’s population of 220 million.
Onabanjo-Kuku gave the figures at the opening of the Airports Council International (ACI) Africa Regional Conference & Exhibition 2026 which held in Abuja on Tuesday with theme; “Next-Gen Airports: Driving Performance and Resilience.”
She said: “In Nigeria alone, with a population exceeding 220 million, we record approximately 19.5 million passengers annually across 28 airports. The potential is vast, but the gap between where we are and where we could be remains substantial.
“The challenges are real: funding constraints, infrastructure gaps, high operating costs, fragmented connectivity, and the persistent pressure to keep charges low while delivering world-class facilities. These are the very issues this conference has been designed to address.
“The challenges are real: funding constraints, infrastructure gaps, high operating costs, fragmented connectivity, and the persistent pressure to keep charges low while delivering world-class facilities. These are the very issues this conference has been designed to address.”
She also spoke on the statistics in Africa’s aviation which she said should give everyone confidence about where the continent is headed. Citing the latest data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), she said African airlines recorded a 6.4 per cent year-on-year increase in international passenger demand in July 2026.
“Let me put that in perspective: while global international demand actually declined by 0.1 per cent during the same period, Africa was expanding. Our continent’s overall passenger demand grew by 5.2 per cent, second only to Latin America and the Caribbean, and substantially ahead of the global average of 0.2 per cent.
“Nigeria, my home and the host nation for this conference, is proud to be at the forefront of this growth story. Our aviation market now ranks as the fourth-largest in Africa, with over 18.8 million domestic and international passengers recorded in 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of 11.9 per cent.
“The Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos whose oldest terminal is being rehabilitated and upgraded as we speak recorded the fastest growth in scheduled seat capacity among Africa’s ten largest airports in September, with a remarkable 24.1 per cent increase. According to OAG data, Nigeria’s total scheduled airline capacity for September 2026 reached 1.19 million seats, a 37.4 per cent increase from the same period last year, the fastest growth among Africa’s top ten aviation markets. This is driven by currency reforms, new aircraft leasing agreements, and growing confidence from international carriers looking to fly to Nigeria,” she said.
On the strides of FAAN, she said since 2023, the agency has been on a deliberate transformation journey, one that embodies this conference’s theme. “We have learned that transformation is possible even under constraint. On infrastructure modernisation, we have prioritised safety and capacity.We have rehabilitated a major runway at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, upgraded terminals, and improved airfield lighting while maintaining operations. We have focused on the fundamentals: safe runways, functional terminals, and reliable systems. On passenger experience, we have established the Passenger Experience Hub, a dedicated initiative to make speed, predictability, comfort, and human assistance central to our operations,” she said.
