Vice Chairman of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Allen Onyema, has disclosed that no domestic airline in Nigeria makes up to $1 million in annual profit, blaming the situation on the high cost of operations and the multiple taxes, fees and charges imposed on carriers.
Onyema, who is also the Chairman of Air Peace, made the disclosure on Thursday at the 30th Annual Conference of the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents in Lagos.
The conference, themed “Towards Sustainable Aviation Industry: Balancing Government Revenue Demands with Sector Growth,” focused on the challenges confronting Nigeria’s aviation sector and the need to balance government revenue generation with industry growth.
According to Onyema, the financial burden on airlines has made profitability extremely difficult, with operators also having to access loans from Nigerian banks at interest rates as high as 33 per cent.
He said the rates later declined to 30 per cent and subsequently 29 per cent, but remained a major burden on airlines operating in the country.
Onyema called for a comprehensive review of the taxes, charges, fees and other financial obligations imposed on domestic airlines, warning that the sector would continue to struggle without such reforms.
“The airlines of Nigeria are advocating that for the airline industry to succeed in this country, there must be a review of the bills, the charges, the fees and taxes being paid by airlines of Nigeria.
“Unless and until that is done, forget it, airlines will continue to wobble and stumble in this country.”
He challenged stakeholders to examine the financial records of Nigerian airlines, insisting that none currently generates more than $1 million in annual profit.
“Go and look at the books of these airlines. I don’t think there’s anyone that makes over a million dollars every year as profit. None of them.
“If Air Peace, the biggest carrier, the biggest revenue generator, did not make one million dollars at the end of 2025, I don’t think there’s any other airline that would do that. It is as bad as that.”
AON Seeks Revenue Retention
The AON vice chairman also urged the Federal Government to allow aviation agencies to retain a larger portion of the revenue they generate for the development and maintenance of critical infrastructure in the sector.
He said airlines were not opposed to funding government agencies but argued that excessive remittances were undermining the ability of the agencies to carry out their responsibilities effectively.
“The airlines of Nigeria, we are not against funding government agencies. We support them.
“In fact, we call on government to allow revenues or whatever is coming to these agencies to remain for the development of the industry.”
Onyema said the remittance of more than 25 per cent of agencies’ revenue could be counterproductive, urging the government to allow a reasonable percentage of funds generated through the airlines to remain with the relevant agencies.
According to him, retaining more funds would enable the agencies to invest in infrastructure and prevent further deterioration within the aviation sector.
He warned that failure to address the funding challenge could result in infrastructural decay across the industry.
United Nigeria Airlines Defends Compliance
Meanwhile, the Executive Chairman of United Nigeria Airlines, Professor Obiora Okonkwo, dismissed allegations that domestic airlines had failed to remit the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
Okonkwo maintained that Nigerian airlines had remained fully compliant with the regulatory authority before the recent labour disputes.
He rejected claims of widespread non-compliance by domestic operators, insisting that airlines had continued to meet their regulatory obligations.
