Fidelia Okafor

Airlines operating in the country between January and December 2015 sold tickets worth N385, 909, 897, 028.80 and between January and October 2016 sold N330, 548, 324, 796.84.

Capt. Muhtar Usman, the director general Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), who disclosed this in Lagos while addressing aviation journalists also said domestic passenger and flight movements between January and September 2016 were 8,090,816 and 130,745 while foreign passenger traffic and aircraft movements during the period were 3,272,331 and 33,099 respectively.

He also stated that the total passenger traffic, both domestic and foreign was 11,344,936 while flight movement was 163,844

Usman also said airlines operating 597 flights flew 42,000 passengers daily in 2016 while 700 flights operated daily in 2015 and flew 42,000 passengers.

The total domestic and foreign passenger traffic between January and September 2015 was 11, 402, 899 while aircraft movement was 233, 845 he said.

The director general said the out gone year was a successful one with a mixed bag of fortunes.

He also noted that the year was “another zero accident year culminating in a streak in the commercial air transport category.”

Usman said it was sustaining zero accidents through an increase in safety oversight, wider and more regular surveillance, stringent enforcement of regulation as well as appropriate sanctions to apply.

Sustaining zero accident in the aviation sector, reviewing and strengthening economic regulation, improving consumer protection and a continuous prioritization of training for the industry would form part of the four-point agenda for 2017 said Usman.