Nigeria’s aviation sector lost $3.5bn to poor infrastructure btw. 2020-2022-Rewane

By Sade Williams 

 Nigeria’s aviation sector lost a whopping $3.5 billion to poor infrastructure between 2020 and 2022, managing director, Financial Derivatives, Bismarck Rewane has said.

He made this revelation recently at the 29th League of Airports and Aviation Correspondents Conference with the theme: ‘Financing Nigeria Aviation, Risks, Prospects and Opportunities ‘ held at Providence hotel, GRA, Lagos .

According to him, policy consistency is however crucial for rebuilding trust with global investors and attract global aviation

He is also of the opinion that the Nigerian aviation sector is in need of consolidation to stem inefficient operations.

Rewane revealed that the air transport sector contracted by 0.81 percent in the first quarter of 2025, the 6th consecutive quarterly decline, attributing it to poor Infrastructure and low viability of Nigeria’s airports.

“Nigeria has 32 airports, only 20 were considered viable in 2024, and 92-96 percent of traffic flows through just four”, he said.

Rewane also revealed that Nigeria has 23 active domestic airlines, however only five airlines control 75 percent of traffic

“The industry is fragmented, domestic passenger traffic declined for the second straight year to 11.5 million in 2024. Due to poor infrastructure, Nigeria’s aviation sector lost $3.5 billion in revenue between 2020 and 2022.”, he said.