Nigeria has highest rate of grounded aircraft in the world

…over 70% out for repairs, grounded due to global spare parts, engines shortage

… Operators flood sector with aircraft to kill competition-Henry

Nigeria’s aviation sector faces a striking paradox: while airlines like Air Peace, United Nigeria, and a few others are adding more aircraft to their fleets, domestic airfares have reached record highs—in some cases surging by 130%-250% in the final quarter of the year.

Despite these acquisitions, Nigeria currently has one of the highest rates of aircraft groundings in the world.

Investigation by Aviation Metric shows that over 70% of the domestic fleet is currently overseas for maintenance (C-Checks) or grounded due to a global shortage of spare parts and engines.

Across Nigeria’s airports, millions of dollars’ worth of planes lie abandoned, slowly rusting away.

A recent survey revealed Nigeria was first in the world for unserviceable aircraft.

This means up to 70 percent of its aircraft are either abandoned or grounded.

A lot of this is down to a poor economy, bad management, and a lack of maintenance.

Despite these arrivals, many existing planes are grounded.

A lack of local MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) facilities means airlines must fly planes abroad for “C-Checks,” which are currently delayed by a global shortage of spare parts and engines.

The “flood” of aircraft, intended to drive prices down through competition, is currently being neutralised by a perfect storm of structural and seasonal factors.

Some have alleged the flooding of the market by Air Peace and United Nigeria as a decoy to kill competition, likening what Air Peace and United Nigeria Airlines are doing as ‘cabal’.

Chief Commercial Officer of ValueJet, Trevor Henry, while speaking with our reporter, said, “That’s why I give it to you straight. It’s just unfortunate that, and you know, if I were to be specific, it’s one or two airlines that are flooding the market with capacity.”

“And you know, that is where the authority should step in. Unfortunately, Nigeria doesn’t share it publicly when it does. December is no higher than the rest of the year. Air Peace and United Nigeria Airlines work closely together. There is a cabal. Unfortunately, there’s no collaboration among airlines. It’s, let me kill you.”

Some airlines have continued to take delivery of aircraft. Additionally, the government’s recent success in moving Nigeria off the “Aviation Working Group” watchlist has allowed the first dry-leases in a decade, potentially bringing in 40+ aircraft by 2026.

Some operators use the term “overcapacity” to describe the concentration of aircraft on popular “trunk routes” (Lagos-Abuja), while secondary airports remain underserved.

Stakeholders stated that the notion that the Nigerian aviation market is “flooded” is a technical reality in aircraft orders but a practical myth for travellers on the ground.

They however asked that If the market is “flooded,” why are one-way tickets costing N350,000 to N700,000 this December?

As new planes arrive, old ones are being retired or failing. In October 2025, the total number of active domestic aircraft actually dropped compared to the previous year.

Some industry insiders, including Henry, have argued there is “too much capacity” on specific routes, but this is a market distortion rather than an actual surplus.

Almost every airline flies the same Lagos–Abuja–Port Harcourt triangle. While there are many flights on these routes, secondary cities (such as Akure, Ilorin, and Calabar) remain partially served.

Speaking on high fares, the ValueJet chief said, “Fares do go up because all of a sudden there is a high demand. Now, that high demand is directional. In December, everybody’s going to Owerri, and in the first half of January, everybody’s coming out. Now, while you may have, why do I use the directional way? It’s because, from today through tomorrow or yesterday, all our flights are full. We are operating daily when we don’t usually fly daily.”

Demand is strong, and our flights are full. In the opposite direction, this is not the case. When you’re doing your average yield, or your average return, or your average price on a round trip, you’re earning 150,000. Now you multiply that by N150,000. Let’s check if our flights are full. You take the average of N150,000 and multiply it by the aircraft’s capacity. That means you’re earning N13.5 million in gross earnings. You have to still take off taxes in that.”

“So at the end, I would say, let’s just make it, you’re earning N10 million per flight. Now, you look at the cost. Now this is where the crunch comes. Your fuel will be around, around N3 million, depending on your aircraft”.

“If an airline owns the aircraft and the aircraft is debt-free, all they have to do is put money aside for what we call maintenance reserves. But the problem that we have here for some airlines, or the problem that some airlines have, is that they’ve leased aircraft. And those aircraft that come in here are on short-term, on an ACMI basis, are wet leased.”

“That aircraft is coming with a foreign crew, and that foreign crew is pilots, cabin crew and technical staff. People may not be familiar with the types of aircraft that are brought in. Those people need to be accommodated in hotels. Those people get crew allowances. Those people receive per diem. Now that the lease is not for one week or one month, it is usually for three months minimum”.

Wole Shadare