- The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has strongly cautioned state governments against building new airports without rigorous commercial validations, revealing that less than 10 percent of Nigerians fly.
- FAAN Managing Director Olubunmi Kuku emphasized that sustained airport operations require immense, lifelong capital outlays for mandatory global safety equipment and certified security personnel, far outstripping initial terminal construction costs.
- Aviation authorities are urging governors to redirect substantial capital investments toward local road, rail, and security architectures to create real, long-term economic connectivity before attempting to access airspace channels.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has issued a stern cautionary advisory to state governors regarding the continuous proliferation of regional airport projects.
Eko Hot Blog reports that speaking during an expansive online public engagement forum, the Managing Director of FAAN, Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku, warned that embarking on these capital-intensive aviation developments without comprehensive, hard-headed economic feasibility assessments risks saddling states with massive, non-performing liabilities.
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Kuku highlighted the surprisingly restrictive size of Nigeria’s current domestic aviation market to underscore the commercial risks involved.
She disclosed that despite Nigeria boasting a massive population of approximately 220 million people, the entire federation recorded only about 17.5 million air travelers throughout the preceding year.
This data reveals that less than 10 percent of the total population utilizes air travel, casting doubt on the immediate financial viability of multiple proposed state-owned runways.
The FAAN chief executive officer explained that many state administrations mistakenly view airport development through a narrow construction lens, failing to anticipate the massive long-term financial commitments required to sustain active flight corridors.
Beyond laying down specialized tarmac and erecting aesthetic passenger terminals, standard aviation facilities must adhere to unyielding international safety metrics, rather than arbitrary local parameters.
According to Kuku, keeping an active gateway open requires continuous spending on highly specialized aviation infrastructure.
This includes deploying a regulatory-approved fleet of fire trucks, maintaining standard fire personnel, and training certified aviation security guards.
She warned that maintaining these international protocols is an absolute necessity, stating plainly that operating airports is a serious business that allows zero compromise on global safety regulations.
To prevent newly constructed terminals from turning into empty financial drains, the aviation regulator challenged states to proactively build matching economic ecosystems capable of attracting commercial passenger and cargo haulage.
Kuku recommended that subnational governments focus on building manufacturing plants, processing industrial agriculture, establishing standardized sports destinations, or organizing major trade events to generate necessary transport traffic.
While acknowledging that several governors justify regional airstrips on grounds of physical insecurity along federal highways, the FAAN boss maintained that states must adopt a holistic, multimodal transportation strategy.
Rather than viewing air travel as a catch-all cure for isolation, state resources are often better spent fixing structural road networks, expanding regional rail, and reinforcing localized security frameworks to improve overall citizen mobility.
