Whereas the number of airline operators on domestic route increased from eight in 2017 to nine in 2018, latest figures from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on number of flights carried out by local airlines presented Air Peace on the lead.
Within the year under review, domestic flights rose from 48, 319 flight operations recorded in 2017 to hit 59,818 flights from January to December 2018.
Domestic airlines recorded inbound passengers of about 5, 033, 669 while outbound passengers were 5, 058, 974 within the 12 calendar months.
The 34 airlines operating on international routes, on the other hand, recorded 15, 645 flights in 2018, accounting for a 15.8 per cent increase from 13, 503 recorded in 2017.
The international airlines also recorded 1, 994, 099 and 2, 084, 980 inbound and outbound passengers, respectively, up from the 1, 750, 184 and 1, 825, 358 passengers recorded for inbound and outbound passengers, respectively in 2017.
Air Peace which increased it fleet within the year, operated the highest number of flights at 22, 055 followed by Arik Air at 15, 205 and Dana Air at 5, 944.
NCAA statistics also showed that Max Air and suspended airline, First Nation Airways, recorded the lowest number of flight operations at 2, 205 and 445, respectively.
The entire Nigerian domestic airlines put together recorded 36, 350 flight delays, up from 30, 214 delayed flights recorded in 2017 while about 544 flights were cancelled from January to December, 2018, down from the 872 cancelled flights recorded in 2017.
