The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, says Nigeria is pursuing policies aimed at improving aviation infrastructure, attracting airlines and opening more direct air routes across Africa.
Keyamo stated this on Tuesday at the 2026 ACI Africa Regional Conference and Exhibition in Abuja, themed: “Next-Gen Airports: Driving Performance and Resilience.”
He said infrastructure upgrades, improved aviation regulation and increased access to aircraft were among the developments recorded in the sector.
According to the minister, the Federal Government has committed significant resources to upgrading airport and aviation infrastructure across the country.
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He cited ongoing rehabilitation and development works at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, as well as runway and other infrastructure projects at airports across the country.
Keyamo said policy reforms in the sector had also encouraged the opening of new routes and increased airlines’ interest in the Nigerian market.
He said Nigeria’s International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) safety score had risen from 49.5 per cent before the administration assumed office to 75.5 per cent, which he described as the highest in Africa.
The minister also attributed the increased availability of aircraft and competition among airlines to a reduction in airfares, although he acknowledged that the sector had yet to reach its desired level.
“Tickets are coming down. They are not what they were in January, in December. They have come down,” he said.
“It’s because of competition. We have created healthy competition among the airlines because they now have access to aircraft. We are not there yet.”
Keyamo said the government’s aviation policies were designed to deliver long-term impact rather than provide quick fixes, adding that the effects of some of the measures were gradually becoming evident.
On regional connectivity, the minister said Nigeria was championing the implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), with the aim of making air travel between African countries easier and more accessible.
He cited the resumption of direct air connectivity between Abuja and Yaoundé as an example of the progress being made.
“Before, in Nigeria, for example, you could not even go to Cameroon directly from Abuja. You had to go to Togo first to connect to Cameroon. But today, we have air operators who brought them in to connect Abuja and Yaoundé,” he said.
Keyamo added that several other applications for new routes within Africa were under consideration.
The Chairman of the FAAN Governing Board, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, said improving interconnectivity should be one of the major outcomes of the conference.
Ganduje said Africans should not have to travel through Europe to reach neighbouring countries on the continent.
“Our take-home for this conference is interconnectivity,” he said.
