Arik Air airlifted 2,239,176 passengers between January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024, a report sourced from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has confirmed.
The airline, which has been under the receivership of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) since 2017, despite its challenges, also operated 10,699 flights within the year under review, making it the second most active airline in terms of passenger traffic and flight operations in Nigeria, after Air Peace.
According to the report, the total number of air travellers in the domestic scene in 2024 was 11, 549,443 with inbound at 5,727,700 and outbound passengers at 5,821,743.
This figure shows that Arik Air captured 19.3 per cent of the total passenger traffic for 2024, while it had 15.1 per cent of the total 70,543 flights operated by the 15 domestic airlines in the year under review.
The Executive Summary on International and Domestic Flight Operations 2024, as captured by the NCAA, indicated that Arik Air had 1,112,358 and 1,126,818 as inbound and outbound passengers for 2024, respectively, making it a total of 2,239,176 passengers ferried in 2024.
Olumide Ohunayo, General Secretary Aviation Safety Round Table Initiativs said: “Arik Air’s performance in 2024 stands out as exceptional, despite the airline being under AMCON receivership.
The data released by the regulatory authority ranked Arik as second in domestic passenger traffic, moving 2,239,176 passengers—a testament to its resilience and strategic management under challenging conditions.
“With a 13.4 per cent market share out of the 11.5 million total domestic passengers, Arik Air’s sustained dominance highlights its strong operational efficiency.
This result demonstrates Arik’s operational stability under Receivership despite financial constraints,distractive litigations,fleet limitations, and regulatory challenges, the airline continued to deliver reliable air travel services, showing effective route management and passenger demand optimisation.”
Roland Iyayi MD of Top Brass Aviation Limited said: “Arik Air transporting 2.2 million passengers and securing the second position in Nigeria’s domestic market is a huge and massive achievement, considering the disruptions the airline had suffered under receivership.
