Nigeria misses in 2025 IATA airport passenger ranking

NIGERIA failed to secure a place in the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) 2025 global rankings of the world’s biggest passenger markets and busiest airport pairs, underscoring the country’s limited share of global air traffic despite its status as Africa’s largest economy.

The position emerged in the latest edition of IATA’s World Air Transport Statistics (WATS) 2025, which provides comprehensive data on passenger demand, airline operations, fleet trends, airport traffic, employment and airline financial performance.

The report showed that none of Nigeria’s airports or domestic routes featured among the world’s busiest airport pairs, while the country was also absent from the list of the top 10 passenger markets by country.

According to IATA, the United States remained the world’s largest passenger market in 2025, recording 890.1 million passengers, followed by China with 776.1 million. The United Kingdom, Spain, Japan, India, Italy, Germany, France and Türkiye completed the top 10.

Within Africa, the busiest airport connection in 2025 was the Cape Town International Airport–Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport route, which handled 3.4 million passengers, highlighting South Africa’s dominance in intra-African air travel.

Globally, Asia-Pacific continued to dominate air travel, with the Jeju International Airport–Seoul Gimpo International Airport route retaining its position as the world’s busiest airport pair, carrying 13.3 million passengers during the year.

All of the world’s top 10 busiest airport pairs were domestic routes, except the Jeddah–Riyadh connection in Saudi Arabia, which was the only one outside the Asia-Pacific region.

The report also highlighted sustained growth in premium air travel. International business and first-class passengers increased by 4.5 per cent year-on-year to 109.7 million in 2025, accounting for 5.5 per cent of all international travellers.

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Europe remained the largest premium travel market, while Latin America recorded the fastest growth, rising 22.1 per cent.

IATA’s fleet statistics showed that airlines continued to favour fuel-efficient aircraft. Boeing 737 family aircraft remained the world’s most frequently operated aircraft type with 10.8 million flights in 2025, followed by the Airbus A320 and Airbus A321.

Among wide-body aircraft, the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 recorded significant increases in utilisation compared with 2019, while Airbus A380 operations continued to decline.

WATS is compiled from statistical submissions by 1,315 airlines, including more than 250 international carriers that provide detailed operational data, making it one of the aviation industry’s most comprehensive statistical references.

Nigeria’s absence from the rankings comes as the country’s aviation industry continues to grapple with infrastructure constraints, high operating costs, foreign exchange volatility and relatively low passenger volumes compared with the world’s leading aviation markets.

Industry observers say improving airport infrastructure, expanding airline connectivity, strengthening regional integration under the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), and increasing passenger confidence are critical for any country that wants to improve.