FAAN Trains 3,500 Personnel As Kuku Charges African Governments, Airports On Improvement Action

The Vice President, Airport Council International Africa (ACI-Africa) and Managing Director, Chief Executive, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mrs. Olubunmi Onabanjo-Kuku says FAAN has invested substantially in “training and professional development, with over 3,500 personnel reported as trained and certified through ICAO and ACI programmes.”

Speaking at the ACI Africa Regional Conference & Exhibition 2026 held at the Abuja Continental Hotel, Abuja, today, Onabanjo-Kuku said “infrastructure depreciates; technology becomes obsolete; but a competent, accountable, and continuously learning workforce multiplies every investment. We must build a culture of continuous learning and develop aviation professionals who can manage the increasingly complex airport ecosystem.”

This she identified as one of the five imperatives that will define the next generation of African airports at this conference with the theme, “Next-Gen Airports: Driving Performance and Resilience.”

The other imperatives are financial sustainability where “we must diversify revenue beyond aeronautical charges. Our airports must become commercial ecosystems—anchors for logistics parks, hospitality, retail, data-driven services, and airport-city development. The land and connectivity around our airports represent untapped economic potential.”

Another is intelligent infrastructure as “we must invest not just in terminals, but in the systems that make airports work: predictive maintenance, reliable power, digital operational systems, and data analytics that inform decision-making. The less visible investments often deliver the greatest returns.”

The fourth is operational resilience where “we must build redundancy, agility, intelligence, and communication discipline into everything we do. The objective is not to eliminate uncertainty, but to reduce the time between disruption and effective response.”

The fifth is partnerships. “Government resources alone cannot meet the scale of investment, technology, and expertise required. We must build commercially viable partnerships with private investors, airlines, technology providers, logistics companies, and development finance institutions.”

She called on “governments across Africa to establish predictable, long-term, and commercially disciplined frameworks for airport infrastructure investment. Give airport leaders clear mandates, predictable resources, room to manage commercially, and accountability for measurable results.

I call upon our development partners and financial institutions to recognize African airports as strategic economic infrastructure worthy of sustained investment.

The returns—economic, social, and developmental—are immense. I call upon my fellow airport leaders to embrace bold, strategic prioritization. Not every desirable project can be funded at once.

But the essential projects—the ones that protect safety, build capacity, generate revenue, and strengthen resilience—must not wait.

And I call upon all of us to remember that aviation is ultimately about connecting people.

Every passenger who passes through our airports carries dreams, responsibilities, and aspirations. We must build airports worthy of that trust.” the statistics that should give every one of us in this room confidence about where we are headed.

She said Nigeria’s “aviation market now ranks as the fourth-largest in Africa, with over 18.8 million domestic and international passengers recorded in 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of 11.9 per cent.

The Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos—whose oldest terminal is being rehabilitated and upgraded as we speak—recorded the fastest growth in scheduled seat capacity among Africa’s ten largest airports in September, with a remarkable 24.1 per cent increase. And the momentum is building.

According to OAG data, Nigeria’s total scheduled airline capacity for September 2026 reached 1.19 million seats, a 37.4 per cent increase from the same period last year—the fastest growth among Africa’s top ten aviation markets. This is driven by currency reforms, new aircraft leasing agreements, and growing confidence from international carriers looking to fly to Nigeria.

Since the current Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development took office, several airlines have resumed operations in Nigeria, and more are expected soon.

These figures are not abstract. They represent millions of Africans connecting with family, doing business, accessing healthcare, and exploring opportunities. They represent livelihoods. They represent economic growth. They represent the future we are building together.”

She said based on the latest data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), African airlines recorded a 6.4 per cent year-on-year increase in international passenger demand in July 2026, adding that while global international demand actually declined by 0.1 per cent during the same period, Africa was expanding and is not just participating in global aviation recovery but leading it.

“Our continent’s overall passenger demand grew by 5.2 per cent, second only to Latin America and the Caribbean, and substantially ahead of the global average of 0.2 per cent. This is not a marginal improvement. This continent is on the move. Nigeria, my home and the host nation for this conference, is proud to be at the forefront of this growth story.”

Mrs. Onabanjo-Kuku however noted that “growth alone is not the full story. Africa’s aviation sector faces structural headwinds that we must confront with clear eyes and collective resolve.

Our continent accounts for just 1 per cent of global air traffic despite having 18 per cent of the world’s population. Load factors remain below global averages, and our airlines’ financial viability remains fragile.

In Nigeria alone, with a population exceeding 220 million, we record approximately 19.5 million passengers annually across 28 airports. The potential is vast, but the gap between where we are and where we could be remains substantial.

This is not a reason for despair. It is a reason for deliberate, strategic action. The challenges are real: funding constraints, infrastructure gaps, high operating costs, fragmented connectivity, and the persistent pressure to keep charges low while delivering world-class facilities. These are the very issues this conference has been designed to address.”