Passenger traffic on domestic routes in the country dropped by over 30 per cent in the first half of 2018, compared with same period last year, findings by THISDAY has shown.
The airlines attributed the development to slowdown in economic activities, as well as low purchasing power. Records on passenger movement made available to THISDAY by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) also confirmed the low passenger traffic in 2018 compared with the previous year.
For example, in the first six months of 2017, the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), the busiest airport in the country, recorded 2,644,034 passengers on domestic flights. But in the same period in 2018, the airport recorded 1,803,317 passengers.
Also, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, FAAN recorded 1,907,682 in the first six months of 2017, higher that the 1,702,020 the agency report in same period in 2018. In fact, the airports that operate only domestic service recorded low passenger movement in the first half of 2018 when compared to the same period in 2017.
The Executive Chairman of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Mr. Nogie Meggison, who also confirmed this, said despite the fact that Nigeria overcame economic recession in 2017, income level of households was yet to improve because of the fragile economic growth. According to Meggison, air travel is one of the barometers to gauge the health of a nation, saying whenever a country is doing well, it will reflect on the number of people that travel by air.
Meggison stressed the need for Nigeria to take advantage of its demography to grow its aviation sector.
(ThisDay)
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