Nigerian Airports witnessed increased patronage between January and June 2019, as air travellers (domestic and international) rose to 8.48 million in 6-month. The latest Air Transport report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed.
The Bureau’s report, stated that the total passengers traffic (domestic and international) rose by 0.43 million from 8.05 million in the corresponding period of 2018. This means that air travellers (domestic and international) across Nigerian airports rose by 5.4%.
Departures and Arrivals of Air Travellers
- Details of the report show that the domestic air passengers rose to 6.36 million in June 2019, up from 6 million in the corresponding period of 2018.
- Also, international passengers who passed through Nigerian Airports rose to 2.12 million, up from 2.04 million in June 2018.
- In terms of arrival, Nigerian Airports recorded 4.23 million passengers, while 4.25 million passengers departed the country.
Domestic Air travellers
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As contained in the report, Lagos State’s Murtala Muhammed Airport recorded the highest number of domestic air travellers for the period under review.
- Murtala Muhammed Airport recorded 2.003 million air passengers between January and June 2019. This represents 31% of the total air passengers.
- A further breakdown shows that total arrivals to the Lagos Airport stood at 1.02 million, while departure was 0.980 million within the period.
- The Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, ranks second on the list, recording 1.99 million passengers within the period.
- Top states with the highest passengers’ traffic include Port-Harcourt (547,972); Kano (261,903); Owerri (210,948); Benin (153,560); Enugu (143,597); kwa-Ibom (110,658) and Maiduguri (102,516).
- On the other hand, Airport that recorded the least passengers’ traffic includes Forcados (9,868), Katsina (2,154), Minna (1,948), Zaria (691), Dutse (526) and Eket (17).
International Air travellers
A total of 2.12 million international passengers travelled in and out of the country through 10 major airports in the country during the period under review.
- Just like domestic travellers, Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, recorded the highest with 1.48 million international travellers (arrival and departure) as at the end of June 2019.
- International travellers who departed from Lagos stood at 773,500, while arrival was 713,709.
- The Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja ranks second with 455,139 passengers. Out of the total, 219,019 arrivals were recorded, while 236,120 departed.
- Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport recorded 103,331 international passengers.
- Other include Port Harcourt (38,544), Enugu (26,092), Maiduguri (6,338), Yola (3,587), Sokoto (2,188), Gombe (499) and Kaduna (28)
Some major concerns
As the number of Nigerians travelling through air transport increases, one of the perennial problems being faced remain flights delay.
The rising spate of delayed flights is a major source of concern, and many air travellers believe the country’s local aviation sector of Nigeria is arguably one of the most unreliable in the emerging market. Flight delays are frequent occurrences and Nigerians appear to be accustomed to it.
As earlier reported by Nairametrics, 16,429 (55%) of the domestic flights operated in the first six (6) months of 2019 were delayed.
According to the report released, between January and June 2019, a total of 30,040 flights were operated in the country, out of which 16,429 (55%) were delayed. Also, within the period, a total of 241 flights were cancelled.
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