Foreign Airlines Lose 4,353 Bags as Passenger Traffic Declines 1.5%
Samuel Mobolaji
A total of 4,353 pieces of luggage belonging to passengers on international flights to and from Nigeria were declared lost in 2024, according to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). The report also revealed a 1.5 per cent drop in overall passenger traffic, from 15.89 million in 2023 to 15.66 million in 2024.
The figures, contained in the NCAA’s Executive Summary on International and Domestic Flight Operations for the year, showed that missing or delayed baggage remains a major issue for foreign airlines. Out of 47,493 reported cases of mishandled baggage by 26 of 30 international carriers, 43,140 were eventually recovered, leaving 4,353 unaccounted for.
On the domestic front, 10 of 15 airlines reported 430 missing or delayed baggage, with 429 later found and just one case unresolved.
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Air France topped the list of international carriers with the highest number of missing or delayed baggage at 5,097, followed by KLM with 4,696 and Egypt Air with 4,462. Others included Royal Air Maroc (3,999), British Airways (3,737), Kenya Airways (3,122), and Virgin Atlantic (2,942). Some carriers such as Cronos Airlines, Overland Airways, Ibom Air, and Value Jet recorded no baggage losses during the period.
The report also highlighted a continuing decline in passenger movement. Total air travellers (both inbound and outbound) stood at 15,655,273 in 2024, down from 15.8 million in 2023. International travel accounted for 4,135,830 passengers, with outbound passengers (2,116,882) once again outnumbering inbound travellers (2,018,948) — a trend attributed to continued emigration, popularly referred to as the Japa phenomenon.
Qatar Airways led the international passenger count with 531,086 travellers, followed by Ethiopian Airlines (460,171), and British Airways (320,643). Air Peace topped the domestic chart with 3.11 million passengers, followed by Arik Air with 2.24 million, and Ibom Air with 1.32 million.
On the domestic scene, a total of 11,549,443 passengers were recorded in 2024, with 5,727,700 inbound and 5,821,743 outbound.
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