Data from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority have shown that the harmonised domestic aircraft movement in Nigeria slumped by 28.5 percent in 2020.

NCAA data, the air industry apex regulator, showed that there was a steady increase in the aircraft movement from 2017 to 2019 at the airports, including Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Enugu, and Kano.

Others were Osubi, Kaduna, Calabar, Sokoto and other 20 airports in the country.

In 2017, 2018 and 2019, there were 210,693, 234,367 and 249,756 flight activities including arrival and departure. 

But in 2020, the number of aircraft movements declined to 178,517.

Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano and Enugu airports had the highest number of aircraft movements with 45,217, 51,777, 9,810, 4,868.

For three years consecutively, 2017 to 2019, Lagos had the highest number of aircraft movements.

However, in 2020, the numbers reduced to 45,217 leaving Abuja to overtake with 51,777.

Also, for the first time in three years, Abuja airport overtook Lagos airport in air passenger movement.

According to the documents, Lagos air passenger traffic from 2017 to 2020 was 3,684,052; 4,245,147; 4,422,023; 2,436,763, while that of Abuja was 2,826,113; 3,863,083; 4,403,847; 2,910,786.

According to the International Air Transport Association, the decline in air passengers transported in 2020 was the largest recorded since Revenue Passenger Kilometers started being tracked in 1950.