Aviation experts in Nigeria have warned over the spate of growing number of private jets in the country.

They noted the development may be due to regulatory gaps and to the detriment of the commercial aviation sector, while the President of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Nigeria (AOPAN), Alex Nwuba, described the growth as a sign of economic expansion.

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, had over the weekend revealed that Nigeria currently has about 240 private jets, making it the country with the largest business aviation fleet in Africa.

Keyamo disclosed this during Nigeria’s engagement with Bombardier Inc., one of the world’s leading manufacturers of business aircraft, in Montreal, Canada, where he led a delegation of private jet operators and government officials to discuss the possibility of establishing a major aircraft maintenance centre in Nigeria.

Commenting on the issue, former Rector, Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, Samuel Caulcrick, said that the increase in private jets indicated “developmental silos” and an accountability gap in the aviation ecosystem.

Caulcrick argued that when wealthy individuals abandon commercial aviation for private travel, they reduce the revenue base of airlines, especially through the loss of premium passengers who help subsidise economy-class fares.

Also, the Managing Director of TopBrass Aviation Ltd, Captain Roland Iyayi, a private jet company, said that the number of private jets alone should not be used as a measure of aviation growth.

He queried the number of such private jets that are genuinely private and involved in commercial operations.

But the President of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Nigeria (AOPAN), Alex Nwuba, said the increase in private jet acquisition in the country was an indication that the economy was creating individuals capable of investing in business aviation.

MEANWHILE, airport managers across the country have been told to begin to see airports as competitive businesses and adopt aggressive route marketing strategies to remain relevant.

The advice was given yesterday at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, by the Chairman Airport Business Summit and Expo (ABSE), Fortune Idu, during his presentation at the 2026 edition of the event with the theme: ‘Unlocking Airport Revenue Potential: Strategies and Partnerships. ’

Speaking on the topic: ‘Understanding Airport Revenue Stream,’ Idu warned that airport managers risked losing airlines and passengers to neighbouring facilities if they neglect route marketing.

According to Idu, the era when airports operated as monopoly facilities without competition was fast disappearing, stressing that proximity of airports across the country would increasingly force airport operators to compete for airlines, passengers and investments.

Idu declared that airport managers who failed to understand route marketing in the next decade could render their facilities irrelevant.

He explained that the development of several airports within relatively short distances in Nigeria meant airport operators could no longer assume the position of domination, insisting that airlines and passengers now have alternatives.

He maintained that while airports must generate revenue from aircraft operations, they must also develop commercial activities around their facilities to maximise income.