The number of international passengers travelling to and from Nigeria declined in 2016 relative to 2015 by 2.5 per cent, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said.
In a Fourth Quarter 2016 and Full Year 2016 Air Transportation Data released in Abuja, the NBS stated that year-on-year growth rate steadily declined throughout the year.
It stated that it declined after recording growth of 5.2 per cent in the first quarter, declines of 1.7 per cent, 4.4 per cent and 8.2 per cent were recorded in the second, third and fourth quarters respectively.
It, however, stated that the reduction was not enough to outweigh the increase in the number of domestic passengers, meaning that overall, total passenger numbers increased between 2015 and 2016 (when comparing same airports).
“As with domestic travel, MMA in Lagos was the airport to account for the largest number of international travels.
“Lagos and Abuja accounted for broadly similar shares of passengers, Lagos dominates international travel, and in 2016 accounted for 69.1 per cent of international travel.
“This is perhaps unsurprising, given Lagos’s status as the business centre of Nigeria, and the location of the clear majority of foreign investment.
“In the third quarter of 2016, 763,374 international passengers travelled through MMA, an increase of 6.0 per cent relative to the second quarter.”
The report stated that in the final quarter the number of passengers travelling through MMA fell by 5.5 per cent to 721,181.
” Despite these trends, the share of MMA airport moved in the opposite direction, falling to from 69.5 per cent in the second quarter to 64.7 per cent in the third, before rising again to 71.6 per cent in the final quarter, the highest share in the year.
“Although the number of passengers travelling through MMA increased in the third quarter, there were large increases in several other airports.
“Conversely, many international airports saw large falls in passenger numbers in the final quarter.
“In both the third and final quarters, MMA airport recorded year on year decline in the number of international passengers, as with domestic passengers.
“The airport recorded a year on reduction of 7.4 per cent, although the decline in the final quarter was less sharp at 6.7 per cent in the third quarter,” it stated.
Meanwhile, the report stated that throughout 2016, cargo movement increased steadily, with increases of 7.7 per cent, 8.4 per cent and 10.4 per cent being recorded in the second, third and fourth quarter of 2016 respectively.
Consequently, it stated that the total volume of cargo movement rose from 45,551,487 kilogrammes in the second quarter to 49,359,641 kilogrammes in the third, before rising again to 54,515,095 kilogramnes in the fourth quarter.
“For 2016, the total volume of cargo movement was 191,738,000 kilogrammes.
“This compares to 189,171,872 kilogrammes in 2015, representing a year-on-year increase of 1.4 per cent,” it stated.