56% of travellers prefer Lagos airport —Report

The Murtala Muhammed Airport has topped the list of major airports frequently used by passengers across the country.

This is just as a total of 2.19 billion scheduled passengers were carried by the global aviation industry in 2021, making it 21 per cent higher than the 1.81 billion carried in 2020.

In a customer satisfaction survey report for 2022 conducted by Phillips Consulting Limited (PCL), while 56 per cent of the respondents contacted by the organization chose the Lagos airport as their most frequent point of departure, 30 per cent of the respondents selected the Nnamdi Azikwe Airport in Abuja as their best point of travel, just as four per cent chose the Malam Aminu Kano airport.

According to the organization’s findings, more than half of travellers expressed satisfaction with the accessibility of baggage trolleys and the simplicity of crowd management at airports.

While most passengers experience difficulties with ground transportation, shuttle services, and parking facilities at the various airports, travellers with physical disabilities or health conditions were found to be more likely to have difficulties navigating airports and flying.

While the survey on the global aviation outlook showed that Nigeria’s aviation remained on the recovery track, it identified air transport after road as the second highest modal contributor to transport output in Nigeria.

Describing the country’s aviation sector as key to developing the economy, facilitating international trade, and stimulating job creation, among others, the survey emphasized how, in the past decades, the sector had undergone several transformation phases, with the deregulation agenda of the sector worthy of mention.

With a population of over 230 million people, the report described the aviation sector as one characterized by huge growth potential.

From a policy standpoint, Nigeria has Bilateral Air Services Agreements (BASA) with over 78 countries, coupled with an open skies agreement with America.

“However, despite the vast potential, the sector is still faulted with numerous inherent challenges. Notably, Nigeria’s aviation is characterized by a high level of market exists by domestic and foreign operators traceable to mismanagement of funds, poor safety compliance, limited infrastructure, and stifling regulatory policies,”  the report stated.