Ethiopian Airlines is capturing Nigeria’s outbound market by flying directly into regional hubs, while local airlines struggle with infrastructure such as capacity, transit hubs and policy issues.
Data from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) highlights a structural imbalance in the international passenger market. In 2024, only five of Nigeria’s 13 domestic airlines- Air Peace, Ibom Air, United Nigeria, ValueJet, and Overland- processed international traffic. Combined, these indigenous carriers accounted for a meagre 6.89 percent of the market, moving just 285,023 passengers across 2,118 international flights.
With local operators maintaining a restricted regional presence anchored primarily by Air Peace’s London route, foreign carriers have easily absorbed the surplus demand generated by Africa’s most populous nation. Qatar Airways led the 2024 passenger volume with 531,086 travellers, securing a 12.84 percent market share, closely followed by Ethiopian Airlines with 460,444 passengers and an 11.13 percent share.
However, Ethiopian Airlines has now surged ahead in total operational frequency, establishing itself as the foreign carrier with the largest physical footprint in Nigeria.
