By Dickson Omobola

Domestic airlines recorded no more than 34,424 cases of flight disruptions in 2024, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, data has shown.

The NCAA executive summary of domestic flight operations stated that of the 70,543 flights operated within Nigeria in 2024, 33,235 flights were delayed, while 1,189 flights were cancelled.

The report showed that of the 15 airlines that operated domestic routes in 2024, the country’s largest flag carrier, Air Peace, came top in flight disruptions, as it cancelled 333 flights and delayed 7,619.

Also, Arik Air, which operated 10,699 flights recorded 5,027 delays, and 215 cancelled flights.

Similarly, Ibom Air came third with 140 cancelled flights, 2,739 delays out of 7,856 flights operated.

A senior member of the Airline Operators of Nigeria, AON, Roland Iyayi, had told Vanguard that but for the capacity loss, the industry would not have experienced flight disruptions as it did.

Speaking to Vanguard last year, Iyayi, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Top Brass Aviation Limited, explained that the fleet of many domestic airlines were out in different parts of the world undergoing major maintenance, adding that operators were unable to access forex to bring them back.

He said: “I can cite a couple of local airlines with monies in the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN. They have put in bids, but have been unable to access dollars for over a year and a half, even two years. Rather than being able to bring back their aircraft some six, eight months ago, they have just been able to bring one aircraft through alternative sources. Government was able to address the needs of international airlines, but domestic airlines were not addressed. So, what you see is a situation where there is a shrinking capacity in the domestic market.”

At the time, Chief Executive Officer at Belujane konzult, Mr Chris Aligbe, had also lamented the schedule integrity of domestic carriers, saying it was on a sharp decline.

He said: “We have no schedule integrity. The schedule integrity in Nigeria is very low. Before, it was 62 per cent, but it has declined completely. I think it is almost getting below 50 per cent. Flights are being cancelled everywhere. We have friends, they want to travel, their flights are cancelled. Even when they try to book in advance, they can’t get a place because it is full. The airlines lack capacity – equipment capacity and financial capacity.”