The West Coast has become a lucrative frontier for Nigerian airlines, driven by limited competition on the routes and a more predictable naira–dollar exchange rate that allows carriers to earn revenue in hard currency.
United Nigeria Airlines is the latest entrant, launching commercial flights from Abuja to Accra and becoming the fourth Nigerian carrier on the route after Air Peace, Overland Airways and Ibom Air. Overland also operates flights to Cotonou, Lome and Niamey, while Air Peace and Ibom Air fly to Accra from Lagos.
The foreign airlines currently competing with local carriers on the West Coast routes are African World Airlines (AWA), which is based in Accra, and Asky Airlines, based in Lome, which operates flights from both Lagos and Abuja. AWA runs two frequencies to Lagos, with plans to increase its operations to three times daily.
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Industry stakeholders attribute the influx of local airlines to the West Coast region to the stability of the naira, which has made it easier for carriers to predict their costs and revenues, and leverage other sources of income.
Olumide Ohunayo, director of research at Zenith Travels, said the combination of a huge market gap and exchange-rate stability is attracting local carriers back.
Ohunayo explained that historically, Nigerian airlines were the ones dominating the West Coast, but along the line, the exchange rate crisis forced some airlines to suspend operations into the region.
“What airlines have done is return to the West Coast. When you add West Coast to your domestic route, you are pushing yourself to a position where you can get partnerships and commercial cooperation, which may involve bringing passengers from international flights. From there, the airlines can develop into an alliance with operators outside Nigeria,” he explained.
Ohunayo said statistics have shown that Accra is the second international route with the highest Nigerian travelers, noting that there are a lot of Nigerians in other West Coast countries.
He stressed that for local airlines to succeed on the route, there is a need to for the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to grant international permits to other airports, besides Lagos and Abuja, to operate regional flights.
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Obiora Okonkwo, chairman, United Nigeria Airlines, stated that the most lucrative route in West Africa is the Nigeria-Ghana route, projecting that the route has about 50 percent of the passengers throughout the region.
“The traffic from Nigeria to Accra is more than all the other regional flights put together. Fifty percent of the traffic is between Nigeria and Accra. So, it can be projected to over 200,000 passengers per annum. So, it’s still a place to compete. The other thing is that we have to be as reasonable and fair as possible with our pricing and costing,” he said.
Findings show that Asky is currently the dominant airline in the West Coast. That used to be the forte of Nigerian airlines, from the days of Nigeria Airways Limited to Bellview, then Virgin Nigeria Airways. After that period, Nigeria started losing the market.
In Abuja, AWA and United Nigeria Airlines fly directly from Lagos to Accra, while Asky takes passengers to Lome and then connects them to Accra.
Asky also connects passengers beyond point to point, linking Abuja passengers to Abidjan, Dakar, the Gambia, Freetown and others from Abuja and Lagos.
Currently, Air Peace flies to at least nine regional destinations in West and Central Africa, including Abidjan, Accra, Banjul, Dakar, Douala, Freetown, Monrovia and others.
Seyi Adewale, CEO of Mainstream Cargo Limited, said Nigerian airlines expanding into West Africa have identified strong passenger, cargo and courier demand on these routes. Regional connectivity, he noted, also positions them to feed passengers into long-haul carriers, provided their schedules are well aligned.
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Adewale said a major advantage for airlines on the regional route is the ability to mop up and distribute passengers from the regions to bigger carriers on long-haul flights.
“These need great planning and coordination. They can also leverage the poor air cargo availability within the region,” he added.
Samuel Caulcrick, the former Rector of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), said forex earnings are the main motivation for local airlines moving to the West Coast region, adding that apart from workers’ remuneration and office rentals, most of the costs are in foreign exchange.
