Nigeria currently maintains with other countries, well over ninety [90] Air Traffic Rights, otherwise known as Bilateral Air Service Agreement [BASA]. This means that Airlines in Nigeria can conduct flight operations in and out of these countries. Be it for scheduled or non-scheduled flight services. That would, however, be after the fulfilment of the necessary safety requirements as spelt out in the books by both countries’ regulatory authority.
Signing Air Traffic Rights by the governments of two countries is the first step in the business of international air travel from one country to another. There are other procedural intricacies involved that must be sorted out before flight operations can commence. It appears as hurdles, but they are requirements to be met so as to guarantee safe operations on both sides and to also ensure that the Big and powerful, so to speak, does not take undue advantage of the weaker side. You like, call it a protectionist policy. Yes, but necessary.
Why Flying? To use the definition of Ms Adefunke Adeyemi, a Nigerian and the current Secretary General of the African Civil Aviation Commission. We fly for business, for leisure, medical, or education, and because of its speed and safety.
She gave this analogy in her opening remarks in Lagos on April 1, 2026, during the opening session of the Aviation Investment Summit organised by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN. Agreed that these are some of the major reasons people fly all over the world; it follows, therefore, that more people would continue to fly. There is no denying the fact that flying could be expensive, but it remains the fastest, safest, peaceful and surest way of connecting the world. No one can travel to Europe from Nigeria on a camel or on a bicycle.
According to Adefunke, the West Coast of Africa has become a domestic operation for Nigerian operators. Really? One may want to ask. When in actual fact, only Air Peace currently operates in almost all the West Coast Countries of Africa. A few other ones operate in one or two Countries.
The AFCAC scribe further revealed that 124 new routes have been opened in the last year. Twenty-Two of them operate on the fifth freedom basis. The Fifth Freedom of the Air is an aviation Right allowing an Airline to ferry passengers or cargo between two foreign countries, provided the flight begins or ends in the airline’s home country. These flights, sometimes called ‘beyond rights,’ allow carriers to expand routes, maximise aircraft usage, and often offer cheaper, high – quality travel options.
Here lies the bane of Nigerian operators. Many agreements are entered into by the Federal Government, but Nigerian carriers have been unable to take advantage of or reciprocate these traffic rights.
Meanwhile, the major source of Foreign Exchange earning to an operator in Nigeria remains going on Regional and International Operations. They are in dire need of Forex for their aircraft maintenance, spares, training of personnel locally or abroad and for Insurance. The cost of running an Airline in this part of the world remains the heaviest. Operating flights from Lagos to Abuja, or Lagos to Kano or Lagos to Port Harcourt, should not be the ultimate, if investors in this sector must prosper in the business.
One of the immediate benefits of the commencement of flight operations to the West Coast as a Domestic Operation is that the Operators would be motivated and encouraged to scale up their operating standards and customer service. This would invariably lead to more patronage and more earnings.
Nigeria is a country of destination for all countries of the world. This country is blessed with both human and natural resources that others desire. We have the numbers[traffic]. We have the resources [natural, physical and financial].
It only requires that this business be conducted properly and professionally so that those who have invested can have returns on their investment and prosper in it. This is the way to go.
Adurogboye is a former General Manager of Public Affairs at the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority
