Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, says ongoing reforms in Nigeria’s aviation sector are attracting new routes and aircraft, increasing competition among airlines and contributing to lower airfares.
Keyamo made the remarks in Abuja at the 2026 Airports Council International (ACI) Africa Regional Conference and Exhibition, where he highlighted infrastructure investment, regulatory reforms and the implementation of the Cape Town Convention as key elements of the Federal Government’s aviation strategy.
According to the minister, increased access to aircraft has enabled airlines to expand their operations and created greater competition in the domestic market.
“We have created healthy competition among the airlines because they now have access to aircraft and the impact of the reforms are felt across the sector,” he said.
Keyamo said the effect of the increased competition was already being reflected in ticket prices, noting that fares had declined from the levels recorded during December and January.
“Tickets are coming down. They are not what they were in January, in December. They have come down. It’s because of competition,” he said.
He also pointed to the implementation of the Cape Town Convention and efforts to attract foreign investment and aircraft into Nigeria as measures aimed at addressing longstanding constraints affecting airline fleet development.
Infrastructure development remains another major component of the government’s intervention, with Keyamo citing ongoing projects at airports including Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos and Kano.
He said the rehabilitation and expansion of runways, terminals and other aviation facilities were intended to strengthen Nigeria’s infrastructure and support its ambition of becoming a major aviation hub.
Keyamo also highlighted improvements in the country’s aviation safety performance. He said Nigeria’s effective implementation score following the 2026 International Civil Aviation Organisation validation mission reached 91.45 per cent, describing the result as the country’s highest recorded score while cautioning that it should serve as a new baseline rather than an endpoint.
The minister said the growth in Nigeria’s aviation market was taking place against a wider expansion across Africa. Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria Managing Director Olubunmi Kuku said Nigeria had become the continent’s fourth-largest aviation market, recording more than 18.8 million domestic and international passengers in 2025, an 11.9 per cent increase from the previous year.
Kuku also cited International Air Transport Association data showing that African airlines recorded a 6.4 per cent year-on-year increase in international passenger demand in July 2026, while the continent’s overall passenger demand grew by 5.2 per cent.
Despite the growth, Keyamo said improving connectivity within Africa remained a major challenge. He argued that it should not be easier for passengers to travel from one African city to a destination outside the continent than to another African country.
He called for stronger cooperation among African governments, airlines and airport operators, as well as a reduction in protectionist policies that restrict regional air connectivity.
Keyamo said the Single African Air Transport Market and the African Continental Free Trade Area could provide important frameworks for improving connectivity and supporting economic integration, stressing that AfCFTA’s potential would be difficult to realise without efficient transport links across the continent.
FAAN Governing Board Chairman Abdullahi Umar Ganduje similarly identified greater intra-African connectivity as a key outcome that should emerge from the conference, noting that fragmented air networks continue to make travel between African countries unnecessarily difficult.
