By Basil Agboarumi

Nigeria’s aviation sector is a boiling pot. The heat is rising from every direction – multiple taxation, infrastructure decay, unpaid services, union agitation, policy inconsistency, reputational crises, and an operating environment that punishes even the most disciplined operator. For over three decades, I have watched this industry from the inside. I have seen airlines rise with promise and fall with ignominy. I have seen professionals who should know better communicate carelessly, and I have seen CEOs who treat Public Relations as a cosmetic afterthought rather than a strategic function.

This is not a lamentation. It is a diagnosis. And a diagnosis without a prescription is mere complaint.

The pages that follow offer both.

The recent turbulence in Nigerian aviation is not an aberration. It is the logical outcome of systemic failures that have been left unaddressed for too long. As a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations and a practitioner who has spent a career at the intersection of aviation operations and reputation management, I submit that the way forward lies in confronting uncomfortable truths with data, not sentiment; with strategy, not noise.

The mortality question: Why Nigerian airlines die young
Over the last four decades, more than 100 Nigerian airlines have gone under. Between the year 2000 and 2020, the average lifespan of a Nigerian airline was calculated at just five years. In the last 25 years alone, over 30 airlines have closed shop, with the likes of ADC Airlines, Afrijet, Albarka Air, Bellview, Chanchangi, Sosoliso, and Virgin Nigeria joining the graveyard.

Nigeria has produced over 100 airlines in four decades, and their average operational lifespan is between five and ten years. Some, like Aero Contractors (founded 1959), have defied the odds, but they are exceptions that prove the rule.

The reasons are not mysterious. Fuel costs are believed to account for 35 – 40 per cent of airline revenue in Nigeria. A Lagos – Abuja return flight requires about 8,000 litres of fuel, costing approximately eight million naira before a single salary or maintenance bill is paid. Add to this the exchange rate trap: Jet A-1 and aircraft leases are dollar-denominated, while airlines earn in naira.

When the naira slides, costs balloon and revenue dwindles.

Then there is the C-check problem. Every 18 months, each aircraft requires a maintenance check costing between $1 million and $3 million. With no heavy maintenance facilities in Nigeria, aircraft must be ferried abroad, draining foreign exchange and grounding capacity for weeks.

But the most damning indictment is self-inflicted: lack of corporate governance and financial transparency. As Alexander Nwuba, former Managing Director of Associated Airlines, put it: “When you fabricate books and raise money, you’ll also fabricate the business. Financial transparency is key to business success.”

Safety: The paradox of excellence and perception
Is Nigerian aviation safe? The data says yes. Nigeria has recorded only two fatal accidents in the past 10 years, giving it the best aviation safety record in Africa. Nigeria first earned U.S. FAA Category One status in August 2010, retained it in 2014 and 2017, and has undergone ICAO audits with no Significant Safety Concerns (SSC) or Significant Security Concerns (SSeC).

However, in September 2022, the FAA implemented a policy revision that de-listed countries that had not provided indigenous airline services to the U.S. or carried a U.S. operator’s code within a two-year period. Nigeria was de-listed – not because of safety deficiencies, but because no Nigerian carrier was flying to the U.S.

Nigeria’s safety oversight is compliant with international standards. The de-listing is a commercial and diplomatic issue, not a safety verdict. The lesson for Public Relations practitioners is profound: technical compliance without commercial activity creates a reputational vacuum that adversaries fill with speculation. Safety data must be communicated proactively, not defensively.

Unionism: Rights, responsibilities, and the global context
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Act 2023 contains clauses that aviation unions have described as anti-labour, including restrictions on the right to strike and picket. The National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) has accused some airlines of making employment conditional upon not joining a trade union, which is a violation of Nigerian labour law.

What is the global norm? In mature aviation markets, unionism is institutionalised and regulated. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) protects the right to freedom of association. In the U.S., the Railway Labor Act governs airline labour relations, requiring mediation before strikes. In Europe, union participation in airline governance is common.

Collective bargaining protects worker welfare, ensures safety standards are maintained, and provides a structured channel for grievance resolution. Unregulated strike action can cripple operations. When unions become politicised, they can hold the industry hostage.

The 2023 Act’s attempt to prohibit strikes in aviation contradicts the Trade Unions Act 2004, which grants the Minister of Labour sole regulatory powers over trade unions. The way forward is not to suppress unionism but to professionalise it. Unions should be partners in safety oversight and industry advocacy, not adversaries to be neutralised.

Taxes and charges: The true picture
The airline operators have consistently complained of multiple taxation. The most contentious is the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) imposed by the NCAA. Air Peace Chairman Allen Onyema has described it as fiscally constricting, arguing that a fixed flat rate per ticket would be more sustainable.

The five per cent TSC was introduced over 45 years ago under the Gowon administration. The question of whether the defunct Nigerian Airways paid this charge is instructive: it did not, because the charge was introduced specifically to fund the regulator after the national carrier’s decline.

Beyond the TSC, airlines face charges from NAMA (navigation), FAAN (landing and parking), NiMet (weather), and various state government levies. In 2026, the NCAA projected N1.129 trillion from TSC and Cargo Sales Charge alone.

ICAO’s Document 8632 urges member states to eliminate taxes on international air transport and ensure that levies generated from aviation are reinvested in the sector. In Singapore, aviation revenue is ring-fenced for infrastructure and safety upgrades.

We recommend that Nigeria should move from percentage-based charges to fixed, transparent fees; automate remittance to eliminate leakages; and ring-fence a defined percentage of aviation revenue for infrastructure renewal.

Airport security: perception vs. reality
The security situation at Nigerian airports is a matter of legitimate concern. Key vulnerabilities include insider threats and collusion with criminal networks, weak access controls, outdated screening technologies, and insufficient behavioural detection capacity. Defective passenger profiling, obsolete surveillance technology, and porous perimeter fencing have been identified as major impediments.

However, Nigeria has made strides: e-gates linked to Interpol and other security agencies have been installed at five international airports. The deployment of advanced passenger screening systems is underway.

Agboarumi is a fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR). He wrote from Lagos.