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Experts: 2018 air traffic to rise by 20%

- May hit 31m by 2030
There are indications that air traffic figure this year may surpass the 2017 number by over 20 per cent, Woleshadarenews has learnt. This is according a source in the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) who spoke to this newspaper under the condition of anonymity.
The source noted that already, the signs are there going by first quarter traffic, adding that if the momentum is maintained, the increase could be as high as 20 per cent or more for 2018.
Equally, spokeswoman for the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu, also admitted that some of the policies put in place by the Federal Government are attracting passengers to air travel.
To her, the ease of doing business, which was introduced by government, visa on arrival and provision of infrastructure, have already shown signs of what 2018 will be.
This is coming as the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said the growth of traffic in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya were as a result of business confidence in the economies.
The clearing house for over 280 airlines stated that Nigerian and African airlines recorded a rise of 4.9 per cent in traffic. “African airlines saw January traffic rise of 4.9 per cent against a mixed backdrop for the region’s largest economies.
In Nigeria, business confidence has risen sharply, while in South Africa, political uncertainty continues to inflict an economic toll.
The region’s capacity rose by 4.2 per cent, and load factor edged up 0.5 percentage point to 70.3 per cent,” IATA stated. It equally projected Nigeria’s air traffic to hit 31 million by 2030, just as traffic in the African continent is expected to rise to 400 million.
To be able to achieve success and reap from the huge traffic, the country would also need $200 billion to tackle Nigeria’s current infrastructure deficit. Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) recently said 3.2 million air travellers went through the Nigeria airports from January to March 2018.
The figures show a 28.3 per cent increase compared to the 2.3 million passengers recorded in the first quarter of 2017.
The second quarter 2018 traffic is not out yet, but there are views that that could slightly be higher too as the same indices that accounted for first quarter 2018 result are still in place.
Domestic routes accounted for 59.87 per cent of the passengers’ traffic, while the international route recorded 40.13 per cent.
The annual total number of air passengers through Nigeria in 2017 was 13,394,945, of which 6,693,687 were arrivals and 6,701,258 departures.
The yearly total figure in 2017 fell by 8.03 per cent from a total of 14,564,720 recorded in 2016, mainly due to the six-week closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, from March 8.
Although the total number of air passengers at Nigerian airports dropped in the first quarter steeply due to the closure of Abuja airport in March 2017, the figure bounced back in the second quarter and kept growing since then after the airport was reopened on April 18, 2017.
Also, more arrivals were recorded than departures for both domestic and international travellers in Q4 2017. Arrivals and departures in all Nigerian airports in the reviewing quarter were 1,864,906 and 1,308,959.
According to the report, Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Owerri and Kano airports served over 92 per cent of total passengers in Q4 2017. However, the strong performance in the following three quarters could not make up for the loss of passengers in the first quarter at Abuja airport.
Besides, more airlines have got approval to begin flight operations into the country with some increasing their frequencies (flight schedule) to take care of the huge capacity on the route. Just a fortnight ago, Air Namibia began flight services to Lagos as it also plans to expand services to Abuja in future.
Not a few agreed that Nigeria could become an aviation hub in the West African sub-region if right policies and infrastructure were put in place.
The plan to set up a national airline for the country has also been attributed as factors that could spur traffic and reposition the country’s aviation industry.
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