Arik Air airlifted 2.2m passengers in 2024 – NCAA report

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority has reported that Arik Air airlifted 2.2 million passengers with 10,699 flights to emerge the second most active airline in terms of passenger traffic and flight operations in Nigeria in 2024.

The Nigerian aviation regulator made this known through an executive summary released to the media.

In the summary, Arik Air airlifted 2,239,176 passengers between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024, leaving industry experts to wonder how the airline achieved such a feat despite the many troubles confronting it.

The airline recorded this achievement under the receivership of Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria, following a humongous debt it incurred.

According to the report, despite its challenges, Arik Air, which has been under AMCON receivership since 2017, airlifted 19.3 percent of the total passenger traffic for 2024.

It also had 15.1 per cent of the total 70,543 flights operated by the 15 domestic airlines in the year under review.

The Executive Summary on International and Domestic Flight Operations 2024, as captured by the NCAA, indicated that Arik Air had 1,112,358 and 1,126,818 as inbound and outbound passengers for 2024, respectively, totalling 2,239,176 ferried passengers at the time.

Meanwhile, unlike other domestic airline operators, Arik Air had only one overbooking/denied flight in its entire 10,699 flights in 2024.

General Secretary of the Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative, Olumide Ohunayo, praised Arik for its performance under AMCON.

He said, “Arik Air’s performance in 2024 stands out as exceptional, despite the airline being under AMCON receivership.

The data released by the regulatory authority ranked Arik as second in domestic passenger traffic, moving 2,239,176 passengers—a testament to its resilience and strategic management under challenging conditions.

“With a 13.4 per cent market share out of the 11.5m total domestic passengers, Arik Air’s sustained dominance highlights its strong operational efficiency. This result demonstrates its operational stability under receivership. Despite financial constraints, distracting litigations, fleet limitations, and regulatory challenges, the airline continued to deliver reliable air travel services, showing effective route management and passenger demand optimisation.

“It should be noted that Arik Air suffered severe disruptions due to a high court order grounding some of its aircraft last year when mediation was a better option than the instantaneous grounding by the executive.”

In his comment, Roland Iyayi, MD of Top Brass Aviation Limited, said: “Arik Air transporting 2.2 million passengers and securing the second position in Nigeria’s domestic market, ahead of competitors like Ibom Air (1.3 million), Max Air (915,918), and Aero Contractors (964,900), is a huge and massive achievement, considering the disruptions the airline had suffered under receivership.

“Arik Air’s performance is remarkable given its limited access to fresh capital, ageing fleet, and regulatory hurdles tied to its receivership status.

“The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) strategic support deserves recognition for its crucial role in stabilising Arik Air, ensuring its continued operations, and maintaining confidence among passengers. Without AMCON’s intervention, the airline would not have remained a key player in Nigeria’s aviation industry. Arik Air’s ability to thrive under receivership reaffirms AMCON’s commitment to preserving jobs, sustaining economic contributions, and ensuring safe, reliable airline services for Nigerian travellers.”