Minister: Passenger growth not enough, Next-Gen airports must drive performance

…decries Africa’s connectivity bottlenecks, urges full SAATM exploitation

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has declared that passenger traffic growth alone will not transform the continent’s aviation sector, calling instead for a deliberate shift toward sustainable performance, infrastructure modernisation, and deeper intra-African connectivity.

Speaking in Abuja at the opening of the Airport Council International (ACI) Africa Regional Conference & Exhibition—themed “Next-Gen Airports Driving Performance and Resilience”, Keyamo emphasised that modernising the nation’s gateways remains a top priority for the Federal Government.

According to the Minister, the industry’s ultimate challenge is converting rising passenger volumes into long-term operational and economic efficiency by making airports safer, more commercially viable, and passenger-friendly.

Keyamo urged industry stakeholders to rethink airport architecture and operations beyond mere structural expansion.

“The airport of the future cannot simply be a larger terminal building,” Keyamo said. “A next-generation airport must be safe, efficient, financially sustainable, technologically enabled, environmentally responsible, and capable of adapting to disruption.”

He disclosed that Nigeria is actively encouraging greater private-sector participation across airport infrastructure and services, while ensuring strict safety, security, and public interest standards are maintained.

He added that the ministry is equally driving initiatives to expand Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facilities, aircraft leasing, cargo logistics, and other critical segments of the aviation value chain.

Addressing delegates representing ACI Africa’s 64 members across 51 countries, Keyamo expressed strong dissatisfaction with the continent’s persistent route connectivity bottlenecks.

“It should not be easier to travel between an African city and a destination outside the continent than to travel between two African cities,” Keyamo stated firmly. “Africa needs stronger intra-African connectivity, commercially viable airports, appropriate regulatory frameworks, and closer cooperation among governments, airlines, airport operators, and other stakeholders.”

He highlighted the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as vital catalysts for regional integration.

“When African airports connect Africa more effectively, Africa becomes smaller, and opportunity becomes larger,” he noted, adding that pairing Africa’s rapidly growing urban hubs and rich tourism destinations with world-class gateways will turn aviation into a prime economic engine.

Crediting President Bola Tinubu’s administration for backing deep-seated reforms, Keyamo pointed to Nigeria’s recent benchmark achievement in international aviation oversight.

Following the 2026 International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Coordinated Validation Mission, Nigeria achieved an Effective Implementation score of 91.45 per cent—the country’s highest result on record —well above the global average.

“Let me be clear, however, that 91.45 per cent is not our destination. It is our new baseline. We must continue to raise the bar,” Keyamo declared.

This modernisation roadmap includes the ongoing rehabilitation and expansion of Terminal 1 at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos.

“An airport is a country’s front door,” Keyamo reflected. “When a visitor arrives, the airport is often the first physical expression of the nation that visitor encounters. We want our airports to communicate efficiency, dignity, hospitality, and confidence.”

“This is not merely about concrete, steel, and glass,” Keyamo explained. “An airport is a country’s front door. When a visitor arrives, the airport is often the first physical expression of the nation that visitor encounters. We want our airports to communicate efficiency, dignity, hospitality, and confidence.”

While urging airport managers to adopt AI, biometrics, automation, and data-driven management to eliminate queues and streamline processes, Keyamo cautioned against losing sight of the core passenger experience.

“Technology must never make us forget the human being at the centre of aviation,” Keyamo asserted. “A smart airport must also be a welcoming airport… Technology is only meaningful when it makes a person’s journey safer, easier, faster, and more dignified.”

Wole Shadare