Nigeria’s largest airline, Air Peace, recorded the highest number of flight disruptions among domestic carriers in August, with 1,864 delays and other disruptions, according to data from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority.

United Nigeria Airlines followed with 1,231 disruptions during the month, highlighting the scale of flight delays affecting passengers across the country.

The figures were contained in the NCAA’s Summary of Domestic Airline Flight Disruptions Operations in August, which showed that domestic airlines recorded a total of 7,961 flight disruptions during the month.

The figures go beyond mere statistics, reflecting the impact of flight disruptions on Nigerian passengers. Prolonged delays can leave travellers stranded at airports for hours, leading to missed appointments, disrupted business plans and unexpected expenses on accommodation and transportation.

With thousands of disruptions recorded in August alone, the challenge facing Nigeria’s domestic aviation sector is increasingly being measured not just by delayed and cancelled flights, but also by the time, money and plans lost by passengers waiting to reach their destinations.

Beyond Air Peace and United Nigeria Airlines, several other carriers also recorded significant disruptions during the month.

According to the NCAA data, Enugu Air recorded 878 disruptions, while ValueJet had 767. Ibom Air followed with 560, Rano Air recorded 503 and Aero Contractors had 469.

Other airlines included UMZA Air with 403 disruptions, Max Air with 336, Arik Air with 301, Overland Airways with 239, Green Africa with 226, XEJet with 127 and BiNANI Air with 57.