Tinubu’s aviation team targets lasting fix for Nigeria’s airport infrastructure gaps

Nigeria’s aviation sector is poised for a major turnaround as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development push forward with ambitious plans to address decades-old airport infrastructure challenges. Industry stakeholders say the initiatives, once completed, will not only improve passenger experience but also unlock new revenue streams for airlines.

Speaking at the 29th League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) Annual Conference in Lagos, Allen Onyema, Air Peace Chairman and CEO, described inadequate airport infrastructure as one of the most pressing barriers to the growth and profitability of Nigerian airlines.

He noted that the absence of proper transit facilities at key airports has long hindered the country’s ability to function as a true regional hub, costing airlines both passengers and revenue.

Airlines operating in West and Central Africa, he explained, lose a competitive edge when connecting passengers must clear immigration, undergo customs checks, and recheck their baggage simply to transit through Nigeria, a process that often drives them to other African airports.

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The lack of seamless connectivity has particularly affected the ability of domestic carriers to integrate regional routes into global connections.

Onyema welcomed the government’s recent interventions, including the plan to rebuild the Lagos airport facilities to accommodate modern transit operations.

He expressed confidence in the administration’s commitment, noting that with sustained focus, the country could, within two years, possess the infrastructure needed to compete with Africa’s leading aviation hubs.

He emphasised that such infrastructure upgrades act as a form of indirect financing for airlines by reducing operational inefficiencies, cutting avoidable costs, and creating conditions for sustainable expansion.

With the right facilities in place, Nigerian carriers, he maintained, could match the success of leading African airlines within the next decade.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.