April 25, (THEWILL) – Nigeria’s airports, put together, have recorded 13 million domestic air passengers in 2021, up from 9 million in 2020. According to data obtained from the Air Transportation report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released on Wednesday, the figure represents an increase of 43.41 per cent, compared to the 9 million recorded in 2020.
The report also stated that Nigerian airports witnessed increased patronage between January and December 2021, as the number of air travellers rose to 15.23 million from 10.55 million recorded in 2020.
The statistics bureau stated that a total of 15,225,627 travellers passed through Nigeria’s airports in 2021. This was an increase of 101.02 per cent in domestic and international travel when compared to 2020.
The data released by the NBS stated that the figures were provided by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and verified and validated by the bureau.
The data contained in the report further showed that the total number of international passengers who passed through Nigeria’s airports was 2,219,146, as against 1,408,026 passengers in 2020. This represents 57.61 per cent growth rate. While in 2021, the total number of domestic passengers who passed through the nation’s airports were 13,006,481 as against 9,069,295 in 2020, which represents 43.41 per cent growth rate.
The number of arrivals in 2021 stood at 6,533,740, which was higher compared to 4,870,072 in 2020. Also, departure stood at 6,472,741 in 2021 compared to 4,199,223 in 2020. Similarly, the total number of international passengers who passed through Nigeria’s airports were 2,219,146 in 2021 as against 1,408,026 passengers in 2020. This represents 57.61 per cent growth rate. The number of arrivals in 2021 stood at 1,109,621, which was higher compared to 690,765 in 2020. Also, departure stood at 1,109,525 in 2021 compared to 717,261 in 2020.
The data revealed that Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt, Enugu and Owerri recorded the highest rate of traffic, while Katsina, Kaduna, Ibadan and Jos recorded the lowest traffic.
A total of 4,758,843 passengers passed through the domestic terminal of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, while 4,093,712 passengers passed through the domestic terminals of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos. The domestic terminals of Port Hacourt International Airport had 900,728 passengers, Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport recorded 545,749) while Akanu Ibiam International Airport had 508,513.
Others are Owerri (583,464), Benin Airport (433,017), Margaret Ekpo Airport (197,998), Yola (175,699), Maiduguri (197,898), Ilorin (148,109), Akure (113,625), Sokoto (137,511), Kaduna (73,110), Jos (57,020), Ibadan (51,172) and Katsina (30,313).
For foreign travel, Lagos recorded the highest traffic, with 1,595,522 passengers, while Abuja came second with 565,062 passengers. Port Harcourt had 14,519 passengers, while Kano had 39,441, Enugu had 4,532 and Maiduguri had 68.
The 2021 global air passenger totals show improvement from 2020, but still only half pre-pandemic levels.
At the global level, passenger traffic recovered modestly in 2021, with the latest ICAO economic impact analysis of COVID-19 on civil aviation revealing that the number of passengers worldwide was 2.3 billion or 49 percent below pre-pandemic (2019) levels, up from the 60 percent drop seen in 2020.
Global seat capacity offered by airlines improved by 20 percent during the same period, exceeding the growth in passenger demand. The overall passenger load factor in 2021 stood at 68 percent, compared to 82 percent in 2019, and airlines worldwide incurred losses of $324 billion following $372 billion in 2020.
Continuing efforts by States to implement WHO and ICAO recommendations, including those issued by the ICAO Council’s Aviation Recovery Task Force (CART) and adopted in the Ministerial Declaration at ICAO’s High-level Conference on COVID-19, have helped to eliminate travel restrictions disproportionate to public health risks, and to lessen the pandemic’s impacts on global mobility so that air travel, trade and tourism can recover more quickly and bring prosperity back to many hard hit markets and regions worldwide.
Meanwhile, the first quarter of 2021 saw a decrease in the rate of global air traffic recovery due to the sharp spike at that time in COVID-19 infections. The situation stabilised slightly in the second and third quarters, mainly due to rising vaccination rates, and with an accompanying relaxation in travel restrictions in various parts of the world during the peak travel season.
However, this upward trend stalled quickly in the fourth quarter, with the emergence of the Omicron variant.
The impact of the pandemic continues to weigh disproportionately on domestic and international travel, with the former recovering at a faster pace. Overall, domestic passenger traffic has recovered to 68 percent of pre-pandemic levels, while international traffic remains at just 28 percent.
Both positive signs and downside risks confront analysts trying to gauge how the aviation recovery will play out over the remainder of 2022. ICAO currently projects that 2022 passenger totals will be 26 to 31 percent less than pre-pandemic levels, with seat capacity down 20 to 23 percent.
In an optimistic scenario, passenger traffic is expected to recover to 86 percent of its 2019 levels by December 2022, based on 73 percent international traffic recovery and 95 percent domestic.
More pessimistic scenarios point to a 75 percent recovery based on 58 percent international and 86 percent domestic recoveries. This projected continued decline in traffic could translate into estimated losses of $186–$217 billion in gross airline passenger operating revenues in 2022 compared to 2019.
About the Author
Anthony Awunor, is a business correspondent who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Linguistics (UNILAG). He is also an alumnus of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria Kaduna State. He lives in Lagos.
