Nigerian Government has intensified efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s aviation sector, improve airport infrastructure and expand direct air links between Nigeria and other African countries, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has said.
Keyamo spoke on Tuesday in Abuja at the 2026 Airports Council International (ACI) Africa Regional Conference and Exhibition.
He said the government had committed significant resources to modernising airport infrastructure across the country, including the ongoing rehabilitation of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, as well as runway and airfield upgrades at other airports.
According to him, the reforms have strengthened aviation regulation, improved access to aircraft for domestic airlines and encouraged the opening of new routes and increased investment in Nigeria’s aviation market.
Keyamo disclosed that Nigeria’s International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) safety compliance score had risen from 49.5 per cent at the beginning of the current administration to 75.5 per cent, which he described as the highest in Africa.
He also attributed the reduction in airfares to increased competition among airlines following improved access to aircraft.
“Tickets are coming down. They are not what they were in January, in December. They have come down. It is because of competition. We have created healthy competition among the airlines, because they now have access to aircraft. We are not there yet,” he said.
The minister said the administration’s aviation reforms were focused on achieving sustainable growth rather than short-term solutions, adding that the impact of the measures was gradually being felt across the sector.
On intra-African connectivity, Keyamo said Nigeria was supporting the implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) to facilitate easier movement across the continent.
He cited the restoration of direct flights between Abuja and Yaoundé, Cameroon, as an example of the progress being made.
“Before, you could not even go to Cameroon directly from Abuja. You had to go to Togo first to connect to Cameroon. But today, we have air operators connecting Abuja and Yaoundé directly,” he said.
Keyamo added that the government was considering several other applications for new routes linking Nigeria with destinations across Africa.
Chairman of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) Board, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, said improving intra-African air connectivity should be one of the major outcomes of the conference.
He said it was unacceptable for Africans to travel through Europe to reach neighbouring countries within the continent.
“Our take-home for this conference is interconnectivity,” Ganduje said, urging governments, airport operators, airlines and investors to strengthen cooperation.
Earlier, the Managing Director of FAAN and Vice President of ACI Africa, Mrs Olubunmi Onabanjo-Kuku, said Nigeria’s aviation market recorded more than 18.8 million domestic and international passengers in 2025, representing an 11.9 per cent year-on-year increase.
She added that scheduled airline capacity for September 2026 stood at about 1.19 million seats, representing a 37.4 per cent increase over the same period in 2025.
Onabanjo-Kuku, however, identified funding constraints, infrastructure deficits, high operating costs, fragmented connectivity and weak airline finances as some of the challenges confronting the African aviation industry.
She called for increased investment in airport infrastructure, digital systems and human capital, as well as stronger partnerships with private investors and development finance institutions.
The conference, themed “Next-Gen Airports: Driving Performance and Resilience,” brought together airport operators, airlines, equipment manufacturers and aviation technology providers from across Africa.
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