In Nigeria, 23 new airlines are in the pipeline
Currently, 11 local airlines operate in the Nigerian domestic market. A number that is expected to triple, in view of the number of Air Operator Certificate (AOC) applications being processed by the services of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.
We are talking here about Africa’s largest economic power and its 210 million inhabitants. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) is currently processing approximately 23 Air Operator Certificate (AOC) applications. This is what the NCAA public relations director revealed on Tuesday, April 20, in an interview with Nairametrics. “Others are planning to come and operate in Nigeria because they know and believe that there are many opportunities in the sector. More importantly, many of them have seen how security concerns have been approached in the industry recently. These are the factors that must have boosted investor confidence in Nigerian airspace,”says Sam Adurogboye. And yet, some experts, like aviation consultant Muyiwa Lucas, believe that the country does not need new carriers, but rather large planes.
“Nigeria is currently experiencing low capacity. There are not enough aircraft seats to meet passenger demand. If the airlines use bigger planes, it's cheaper than two or three airlines making the same trip, with unfilled planes,”he told Nairametrics recently. It is outbid by the association of airlines of Nigeria (AON-Airlines Operators Nigeria) which calls first for an improvement of the local operating environment which is still languishing under the weight of taxes, the high price of fuel doubled by the strong competition from foreign companies. Which factors hinder the development of national carriers. Currently, Nigeria has 11 local companies: Air Peace, Azman Air, Dana Airlines, Aero Contractors, Arik Air, Med-View, Overland, First Nation, Max Air, Ibom Air and United Nigeria (operational since February 12, 2021). NG Eagle and Green Africa Airways are expected to start operations sometime this year.
