The total number of passengers who passed through Nigerian airports in the first quarter of 2017 (Q1 2017) was 2,505,612, representing 31.3 percent drop when compared to the previous quarter and 34.5 percent decline compared to the same quarter of 2016.
The Air Transportation Data Q1 2017 released by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) yesterday revealed.
The report noted that both passenger numbers and aircraft movement declined, attributing it, partly, to the Abuja Airport closure, adding, however, that other factors were also relevant to the decline.
Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA) in Lagos remained the busiest domestic airport in the first quarter of 2017, accounting for 698,165 domestic passengers, or 41.4 percent of the total. This was followed by Abuja Airport which accounted for 499,149 passengers, or 29.6 percent of the total, while Port Harcourt was the third busiest, accounting for 189,843, or 11.3 percent of the total. The report, however, noted that the amount of mail moved through the airports recorded a dramatic increase, almost ten times higher relative to the first quarter of 2016, compensating the sector for the decline in passenger numbers, and led to slight growth of the air transport sector in real terms by 1.5 percent.
“In the first quarter of 2017, the total number of passengers to pass through Nigerian airports was 2,505,612. Of these, 67.3 percent were domestic passengers, travelling within Nigeria, and the rest were international, entering or leaving Nigeria. This represents a considerable drop both compared to the previous quarter (of 31.3 percent) and compared to the same quarter of the previous year (of 34.5 percent, based on revised 2016 Q1 figures), the report said.
