Nigerian airlines recorded 4,765 delayed flights out of 7,961 domestic operations in August 2026, with delays affecting about 60 per cent of flights during the month, according to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
The regulator’s August summary of domestic airline flight disruption operations showed that 3,196 flights operated without being recorded as delayed, while 36 flights were cancelled.
Of the delayed flights, 2,801 were held up for between 16 minutes and one hour, while 1,322 experienced delays of between one and two hours. Another 407 flights were delayed for between two and three hours, while 235 experienced delays of three hours or more.
Air Peace recorded 1,330 delays from 1,864 flights operated, placing it among the airlines with the largest number of disruptions during the month. United Nigeria Airlines recorded 943 delays from 1,231 operations, while Enugu Air had 582 delays from 878 flights.
ValueJet recorded 435 delayed flights out of 767 operations, while Aero Contractors had 246 delays from 469 flights. Ibom Air recorded 254 delays out of 560 flights, while Rano Air had 216 delays from 503 operations.
Other carriers also recorded significant disruptions. Max Air had 204 delays from 336 flights, Arik Air recorded 188 from 301 operations, Overland Airways had 139 from 239 flights and Green Africa recorded 114 delays from 226 operations.
Umza Air recorded 52 delays from 403 flights, while Binani Air had 22 delays from 57 operations. XeJet recorded 40 delays from 127 flights during the period.
The NCAA also recorded 36 cancellations in August. United Nigeria had the highest number with eight, followed by Air Peace with seven. Enugu Air, Max Air, Rano Air and ValueJet each recorded three or four cancellations, while other carriers accounted for the remainder.
The high level of disruptions comes amid continuing operational challenges affecting Nigeria’s domestic aviation sector, including aircraft technical issues, aircraft-on-ground situations, bird strikes, weather-related disruptions and airport restrictions.
The NCAA Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, recently confirmed that some Air Peace aircraft are currently grounded because of technical issues and bird strikes. He explained that an airline may have a sizeable fleet but still have fewer aircraft available for scheduled operations at a given time.
The latest figures also come as NCAA Director-General, Capt. Chris Ona Najomo, warned airlines over recurring delays, cancellations, crew shortages and other consumer-related infractions.
Najomo urged operators to ensure their published schedules reflect the aircraft and crew actually available for service, while strengthening contingency planning and communication with passengers.
He also acknowledged that factors such as adverse weather, diversions and airport restrictions can contribute to disruptions, but stressed the need for airlines to plan adequately for such situations.
The August statistics underline the scale of flight reliability challenges facing the domestic market and the importance of improved operational planning, fleet availability and passenger communication by Nigerian carriers.
