Airlines link airport congestion, bad weather as causes of delays

…MM2 considers slot system

Inadequate infrastructure, airport congestion, and unpredictable weather have been identified as the main drivers of the high volume of flight delays and cancellations across Nigeria’s domestic aviation sector.

Stakeholders and airline operators voiced these concerns during the Aviation Day panel at a travel event in Lagos, which focused on the theme: “Delayed and Cancelled Flights: The Rights of Passengers – The Airline Perspective.”

Adedayo Olawuyi, Chief Commercial Officer of United Nigeria Airlines, noted that a substantial portion of flight disruptions stems from factors entirely outside airlines’ operational control.

To explain the operational bottlenecks at major hubs, Olawuyi likened the situation at Nigerian airports to living in a five-bedroom apartment served by a single parking space.

Morning congestion, he said, frequently blocks aircraft from pushing back on schedule. A flight scheduled to push back at 6:59 a.m. often takes off nearly 40 minutes late because of apron traffic, immediately triggering a ripple effect of delays for the rest of the day.

He said, “There are many reasons that lead to cancellations and delays of flights in Nigeria’s aviation sector. I would first like to speak about the infrastructure that we have. I don’t know how many of you have ever lived in a five-bedroom apartment with only one car park? You know, before you go out in the morning, they need to call you to come and move your car. Sometimes that’s what we face because of congestion at the airport.”

He noted that airlines must prioritise safety above all else, requiring immediate maintenance whenever unexpected technical issues arise, and stressed that many domestic airports operate strictly on a dusk-to-dawn basis without night-landing infrastructure.

Olawuyi said minor daytime delays often escalate into full flight cancellations once operational hours lapse.

He reiterated that sudden, severe weather events, such as mid-flight thunderstorms that disable runway lighting systems, force safety diversions back to origin airports, stranding passengers through no fault of the carrier.

Citing recent data from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) showing that over 60 per cent of domestic flights were delayed in August 2026, Olawuyi called for a clearer breakdown between controllable and uncontrollable factors.

“So, if you get to the ramp early in the morning, there are times when the aircraft is blocked from moving simply because there are many operators operating today. A flight that pushes back at 6:59 a.m. eventually takes off at 7:38 a.m.”

“The flight was supposed to arrive in Abuja by 8 a.m., but there’s already a 40-minute delay that the airline knows nothing about. Now, we are not saying delays will continue or that we intentionally want to delay flights. Airlines don’t want to intentionally delay flights, but the challenges we face are what bring about these delays.”

He encouraged travellers to arrive on time, complete online check-ins, monitor flight-status notifications, and stay calm during unexpected disruptions.

Echoing these views, Trevor Henry, Chief Commercial Officer of ValueJet, cited VIP presidential movements, check-in hall gridlock, extended security screening queues, and taxiway bottlenecks as major contributors to daily schedule slips.

To solve early-morning departure bottlenecks, Remi Jibodu, Chief Operating Officer of Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2 (MMA2), advocated for a structured flight slot allocation system.

Wole Shadare