The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) reports that only three of Nigeria’s 22 airports are profitable.
Olubunmi Kuku, FAAN‘s managing director, told Channels TV on Tuesday that numerous states in the north and south-west are building new airports.
She stated that the authority is cross-subsidising the remaining 19 airports and will continue to do so for some of the future airports being built.
Kuku said:
“I started off by saying that we have 22 airports which we own and manage.”
“We also have about six or seven airports that are either owned by state governments or private individuals or entity which we also support with either aviation security or fire and rescue services.
“We have a number of states in the north as well as in the south-west that are coming up with new airports.
“I would say that based on the stats today, only three of the 22 airports are actually profitable and contribute largely to the sustenance of the airport companies that we run.
“I would also say that we are actually cross-subsidising the other 19 airports today and in most instances, we will substitute or cross-subsidise for some of the airports that are coming on board as well.”
Kuku stated that the FAAN provides 50% of its revenue to the federal treasury, which is a significant burden, and that the authority is in contact with other branches of government to seek relief.
The FAAN president stated that passenger traffic is driven by GDP growth and economic activity rather than the development of new airports.
Kuku believes that increasing airport traffic requires a focus on vital activities like as trade, industry, and tourism.
She added:
“Rather than building new airports, we need to look at the bottom of the value chain to determine what activities can drive traffic into these airports.”
She stated that FAAN is working closely with international organisations such as the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the federal ministry of aviation to expand local and international services.
Kuku stated that there are initiatives underway to make Nigeria and certain airports inside the country into transit hubs.
She said:
“What that means is that we start to build a network of airports where we can push our feeders to some of the other states or to some of the other locations and start to utilise our airports.”
The FAAN chief stated that over 4 million passengers go globally from Nigeria, emphasising the importance of effective infrastructure utilisation in preserving and maintaining facilities.
