Nigerian domestic airports record 2.79 million passengers in Q1 – NCAA

Nigeria’s domestic airports recorded 2,791,591 passengers in the first quarter of 2023.

Outbound passengers slightly trumped inbound passengers and 1,400,031, compared with 1,391,560, meanwhile, international air travel recorded 870,776 passengers in the first quarter of the year.

This was disclosed by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on Friday during an executive summary for the quarter.

Passengers

The report noted that of the 2,791,591 passengers, 1,391,560 were inbound and 1,400,031 outbound, citing those international operations recorded passenger traffic of 870,776, the statement revealed:

• “The breakdown shows that while inbound passenger traffic of 375,700 was recorded, outbound traffic was 495,076 on the international routes.
• “In the first quarter, 25 foreign airlines operated 3,073 flights on the international routes, while 11 domestic airlines operated 182,88 flights on domestic routes.

Complaints and delayed flights

The NCAA also revealed that 1,193 complaints were received from passengers by the NCAA, on delayed flights on international routes, with 24 complaints of cancellations and six air returns, for domestic flights:

• “101,028 flights were delayed within the first three months, with 284  cancelled and 28 cases of air returns.
• “499 flights were delayed on foreign flights in January, with Air Peace topping the list with 53, followed by Asky with 45, Qatar Airways, with 41, and British Airways, with 33, amongst others.
• “In February, delayed flights were 325, with AWA recording 30, Ethiopian Airlines 33, Kenya Airways 11; while in March, 369 flights were delayed, with Qatar Airways recording 32, United Airlines had 1 and Air Peace recorded 64.
• “There were seven canceled flights in January 13 in February, and four in March.

They also noted that a total number of 25 Air/ramp return flights were recorded in the first quarter of the year, as missing baggage claims were 9,087, and a number of those found was 7,942 on international flights, while 31 were found on domestic flights.

NCAA received 27 complaints from international operations and 45 on domestic flights, resolving 9 on international flights, while 22 were resolved on domestic flights.

In case you missed it

Nairametrics reported earlier this week that The cost of air travel for Nigerians continues to surge, with average ticket prices witnessing a significant 34.06% increase over the past year.

According to the latest report from the National Bureau of Statistics, airfare rose from N55,906.86 in May 2022 to N74,948.78 in May 2023.

For airfares, NBS noted that the average fare paid by air passengers for specified routes and single journeys increased by 0.002% on a month-on-month basis from N74,947.30 in April 2023 to N74,948.78 in May 2023.

• “On a year-on-year basis, the fare rose by 34.06% from N55,906.86 in May 2022. The average fare paid on Okada transportation in May 2023 was N464.55, a 0.49% increase from the rate recorded in April 2023 (N462.29).”