AM EDITORIAL: Nigeria’s Civil Aviation Industry In A 100 Years Of Landmark Occurrences
Today, November 1, 2025, civil aviation is 100 years old in Nigeria! The journey started when the first aircraft to ever land in Nigerian soil landed in Maiduguri on the way to Kano on November 1, 1925.
Three British Royal Air Force DH.9A planes, commanded by Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham, made the historic flight, flying in from Helwan, Egypt, with stopovers in Sudan and Chad. This event marked the beginning of aviation in Nigeria.
In the last 100 years, it has been mixed fortunes for civil aviation leadership in Nigeria, airline business, general aviation, training, airports development, industry regulation, jet fuelling, consumer protection, ground handling services, allied business, safety and accident investigation and other segments of the sector.
On industry leadership, 38 Ministers have superintended over air transportation in Nigeria from Chief Ladoke Akintola in 1957 to Mr. Festus Keyamo (SAN) as at 2025. After years of direct control of regulation by the federal government (military and civilian regimes), Federal Civil Aviation Authority (FCAA) was created in 1990 but was dismantled in late 1995 as part of a government reorganization. It was replaced by the Aviation Authority (NCAA), which was created in 1999 and began operations in 2000. There have been nine NCAA Directors-General since 1990 from Air Commodore Kolawole Falope (Rtd) to Capt. Chris Najomo, presiding as at 2025.
The Nigeria Airports Authority (NAA) was established by decree 45 of 1976 and later reformed in 1995. 18 Chief Executives have been heads from Senator Tijani Ahmed (MD/CE) NAA, 1979 to Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku, (MD/CE), Federal Airports of Nigeria (FAAN) as at 2025.
Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has had 13 Chief Executives from Alhaji Ibrahim Auyo in 2000 to Engr. Umar Farouk as at 2025. Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) Zaria, which has produced thousands of professionals, has been headed by 17 Chief Executives from Mr. Oscar Strom (Project Manager/Principal) in 1965 to Prof Danjuma Ismaila (Chief Executive/Rector) as at 2025.
Nigeria Airways was founded on August 23, 1958. It succeeded the folded West African Airways Corporation (WAAC), and was initially named WAAC Nigeria. The company took over the WAAC assets and liabilities and started operations. It was inaugurated on May 1, 1959. In 1971, it was renamed and operated as Nigeria Airways Limited (NAL), a very popular national carrier respected across Africa and beyond. The national carrier unfortunately, had accumulated significant debts that outstripped its revenues by mid-1980s to the extent that its aircraft were detained or impounded for unpaid debts. Fleet of 32 aircraft in 1984 gradually reduced to just three in October 2000. Corruption, mismanagement and over- staffing was declining the airline by the 80s. The airline even had a training school. NAL was eventually liquidated in April 2003 when Dr. Mrs. Kema Chikwe was Minister of Aviation.
Aero Contractors of Nigeria was formed in 1959 as wholly owned by Schreiner Airways B.V of the Netherlands. It became a company with 40% Nigerian holding in 1973 and subsequently 60% in 1976. In January 2004, Schreiner Airways was bought by Canadian Helicopter Corporation (CHC) who acquired 40% holding of Aero contractors while 60% majority share was held by the Ibru family group. It had commenced operations as an air charter operator, providing both rotary and fixed wing services to all the major oil, gas and related support companies working in Nigeria and in the West Africa sub-region. As at 2025, Aero operates scheduled flights.
Nigeria’s aviation industry was deregulated in 1982 so as to create more choices for air travelers and make air transport affordable. Formal deregulation took place in 1985 to allow for private airlines to enter the market and for airfares to be determined by market forces. This marked significant shift from the previous government-controlled system.
The collapse of Nigeria Airways was significant in history because it left the industry with huge gaps in aircraft maintenance and training that eventually came along with brain drain. Liquidated NAL had properties scattered all over the world. Arik Air eventually started operations with NAL’s ground facilities at Lagos airport in 2006, when Arik was launched.
After NAL’s liquidation, unsuccessful efforts were made to get a replacement of the liquidated government owned national carrier; from Eagle Air to Air Nigeria to Virgin Nigeria JV to an imaginary Nigeria Air, immersed in alleged fraud and a controversy involving Minister Hadi Sirika and Ethiopian Airlines in 2023.
The country also lost the servicing of tens of its Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASA) routes to foreign airlines until March 2024 when Air Peace, (currently 11-year-old airline), commenced Lagos-London flights, thereby beginning a restoration process. By 2025, Air Peace has already started flights to other destinations in Europe and other continents, servicing routes that were not serviced by a Nigerian airline for over two decades.
A remarkable story of local scheduled airlines is that there were 150 registered airlines as at 2000, but only nine were operating as at 2017. The high failure rate was attributed to factors like poor management, a lack of long-term funding, unstable business environment and lack of good corporate governance. Majority of the airlines operated for less than 10 years before extinction. Between 2011 and 2012, Chanchangi Airlines recorded the highest local passenger traffic. It operated for over a decade but later collapsed. Arik Air entered the market on October 30, 2006 with fleet of brand new aircraft, including Beechcraft. It ordered Boeings and Airbuses, operating local, regional and international flights. Eventually, it was taken over by Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) in February 2017 due to issues reportedly related to debt. Today, Arik still operates scheduled flights but with a much leaner fleet.
The number of operating airlines is growing again however as there are over ten registered scheduled local airlines as at 2025.
Accolades of consistency should also go to Overland Airways which started operations in 2002 with charter services, opened Abuja-Ilorin route with scheduled flights, and later extended services to many other cities in Nigeria. As at 2025 (23 years after launch), Overland Airways operates consistent scheduled local flights apart from regional flights.
Despite the mortality rate of local scheduled airlines recorded within the last 100 years, there is currently an era of use of brand new airplanes by local airlines. For many years, most local airlines in Nigeria had to contend with a constraint of lack of confidence in dealing with aircraft manufacturers and lessors, because of negative experiences in deals, having to do with difficulty of lessors to recover their mobile equipment (aircraft) in cases of default in payment by the lessee. Financial institutions also lacked the confidence to offer loans to Nigeria’s airlines, impeding their access to credit facilities to finance aircraft acquisition. Nigeria was perceived and described as high risk region or jurisdiction risk by insurers and aircraft lessors.
Nigeria signed the Cape Town Convention Treaty in 2007 but the challenge persisted until current Minister of Aviation & Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo (SAN) championed the review in 2024 and the Justice of Nigeria’s Federal High Court signed the Practice Directions of the CTC on mobile asset.
The irrevocable de-registration and export request authorization (IDERA), which would enable government to support a lessor taking his aircraft out of the country when there is infringement in the conditions of leasing the aircraft to a Nigerian carrier, was also signed. After these measures, Nigeria’s rating by aviation working group (AWG) shut up from 49% to 70.5%, even as AWG removed Nigeria from the risk watch list.
Today, the industry has grown to a level where some state governments are making efforts to finance the establishment of state owned commercial airlines.
Emergence of private jets’ ownership was initially powered by ego trip but has surged because of additional reasons, one of which is Poor On-Time-Performance (OTP) by some local scheduled airlines. The number of private jets in Nigeria grew exponentially between 2000 and 2012. There were approximately 20 private jets in 2007, a number that had increased to over 150 by 2012, marking a 650% increase. The number of private business aircraft rose from 44 in 2005 to 157 in 2024. As at November 2025, the number exceeds a combination of both number of operating scheduled local airlines and number of foreign airlines operating into Nigeria.
On industry regulation, with the emergence of an autonomous NCAA in 2000, the industry’s regulatory oversight has been top-notch, with some touch of active economic regulation, much better than the situation obtainable as at 1960 when the country gained political independence.
Air transport service providers, airline operators and all consumers have received greater attention with the establishment of the NCAA Consumer Protection Unit that has been upgraded to a full Directorate; a model that was eventually extended to other aviation agencies to enhance consumer protection and satisfaction. Drones technology equally has a supervisory unit in NCAA today.
The NAA was created in 1976 and later became FAAN saddled with responsibilities, amongst which is managing airports in the country. Within the last 60 years, there have been improvements in airports in terms of number, infrastructure standards, mode of operation from manual to adoption of modern technology as well as drastic improvements in aviation security architecture, infrastructure and personnel.
The number of airports have increased from one Murtala Muhammed International Airport in 1977 to so many international airports. There are over 30 airports in 2025 with federal government owning 22 and state governments owning the rest. Some other state governments are mulling the idea of airport ownership. This is different from about 200 private helipads across the country.
Privately built commercial airport terminals did not exist until 2007 when Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2 was commissioned and started operations under a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) arrangement between Bi-courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL) and the Federal Government of Nigeria, represented by FAAN. This is significant in Nigeria’s 100 years of airport experience as this kind of arrangement has been the first in Africa. Passenger experience at this terminal has been applauded in 18 years of operation.
Nigeria’s major airports have been subjected to several international audits and certifications over the years. In March 2001, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) had adopted a new standard that required certification of aerodromes used for international operations which became applicable on November 27, 2003. Nigeria initially complied with the provisions by certifying two international airports in 2017. The three-year duration of those certificates lapsed in 2020 in line with Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations in force then. NCAA presented renewed aerodrome certificates to Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja and Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos, on November 22, 2024.
The number of air travelers in Nigeria has significantly increased from 99,295 in 1980 (78,895-domestic and 20,400 international) to over 15 million passengers in 2024. Currently, the country’s airspace records over 163,000 aircraft movements annually.
In 100 years, there have been improvements in airspace management, ATC facilities and collaborations between military and civil aviation stakeholders, with presence of the Nigeria police, immigration service, the customs and the Nigeria Air Force at the airports.
On training, several aviation training schools have sprang up in Nigeria after Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria. NCAT has produced thousands of professionals for the sector over the years. Aviation training schools are now located all over the country. There is even an African Aviation & Aerospace University located in Abuja.
The military rule in Nigeria ended in 1999. In the early 2000, Nigeria’s civil aviation sector was at a “re-development” stage. On May 4, 2002, there was an EAS Airline aircraft fatal crash in Kano that led to a federal government ban on use of BAC 1-11 aircraft type in the country. This affected the fleet of some other airlines like Okada Air which had BAC 1-11 dominate its fleet.
Between 2005 and 2007, the industry experienced challenges in air safety with fatal aircraft accidents occurring in a relative succession. There was Bellview B737 crash on October 22, 2005. There was Sosoliso DC-10 crash of December 10, 2005. There was ADC B737 Crash of October 29, 2006. The trend led to a review of civil aviation laws that produced the Nigeria Civil Aviation Act 2006. The June 3, 2012 Dana Air crash in the suburb of Lagos threw up another setback in the country’s rating on safety.
Nigeria achieved United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Category 1 rating in August 2010 but was delisted in September 2022.
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Policy of 2001 had recommended the creation of a financially independent Accident Investigation and Prevention Bureau (AIPB) from the Ministry of Aviation, which would operate as an agency to guarantee expeditious response and movement of air safety investigators to accident sites. The policy also stated that the Bureau shall be responsible for the investigation of aircraft accidents, serious incidents and the publication of investigation reports. In 2022, the agency was upgraded through a legislative process to Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) and was empowered to investigate accidents that occur in both air, road, sea or rail transport sectors. The agency has speedily developed strength to the level of investigating air accidents that occurred in other countries outside Nigeria. This is another gain of a century.
Nigeria Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) was established in 1979, privatized in 2005 and listed on the stock market in 2006. Skypower Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL) was a subsidiary of Nigeria Airways but outlived the airline and became autonomous in 1999. It was later acquired by SIFAX Group and renamed Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited. Both NAHCO Aviance Plc and SAHCO Plc are in the stock market as at 2025. No other country in West Africa has two main ground handling companies in the stock market.
Aviation allied business sector has attracted many private in-flight catering companies, passenger facilitation companies, ICT companies and other players, especially after the liquidation of NAL. Freight traffic and companies have equally grown in geometric volume.
On aviation fuelling, Shell Aviation pioneered the market in the 1950s with the introduction of AVGAS (Aviation Gasoline), while BP (British Petroleum) entered in 1961, commencing the sale of ATK–Jet A-1 in 1962, according to Dr. Thomas Ogungbangbe’s account. Subsequently, Total, Mobil, and Texaco joined the sector in 1979, followed by Unipetrol in 1982. Over time, these companies have undergone significant transformations.
Shell Aviation evolved into Conoil. BP rebranded as AP, Total merged with Elf and Fina (now known as TotalEnergies), Texaco became Chevron Texaco, and Unipetrol transitioned into Oando. Collectively, these firms have been responsible for providing aircraft refueling services at Nigeria’s major airports either directly through their personnel or via joint fueling consortia established to enhance operational efficiency. Today, there are more aviation fuel marketing companies than the number of airlines using Nigeria’s airports. Policies and regulations are needed to address this situation.
In 100 years, Nigeria’s air transport market has provided huge traffic and market benefits to many foreign airlines. This has been admitted by the foreign airlines themselves. Since February 9, 1936 (97 years ago), British Airways has been operating scheduled flights between Nigeria and the United Kingdom. Since November 1960 (65 years ago), Ethiopian Airlines has been operating scheduled flights to Nigeria. Since 2007, Delta Airlines from the United States has been operating scheduled flights into Nigeria. There has been Emirates, Lufthansa, Virgin Atlantic Airways, and so on.
In the last 100 years, Nigeria has produced professionals that have been useful to the international aviation market and policy decision agencies. Dr. Olumuyiwa Bernard Aliu has served as President of ICAO. Dr. Harold Demuren has president over ICAO 37th General Assembly, becoming the first African to do so. Mrs. Olufunke Adeyemi has in 2025, had her tenure renewed through re-election as President of African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC). The list is long.
The level of professionalism in media reportage of civil aviation activities in Nigeria has improved consistently, especially since the late 70s due to quality of training that aviation reporters on the beat have exposed themselves to. Aviation journalists in Nigeria are today respected in the international community for their vibrancy.
100 years of civil aviation in Nigeria has been full of pains, gains and prospects. This must have inspired the idea of celebrating the feat by Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ASRTI) in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development.
A hearty congratulations to Nigeria’s civil aviation industry! AM
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You can get more information from the book titled NIGERIA’S AVIATION SECTOR: PEOPLE, BEHAVIOURS BEHIND THE PERFORMANCES. Call+ 234 8038117704 or email [email protected]
