The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development of Nigeria, Festus Keyamo, has emphasised Nigeria’s unique geographical advantage in becoming the central hub for air transportation in Africa.
He made this known when he addressed the global aviation community at the International Route Development Conference, themed: “Network Cargo 2024 in Moscow, Russia.”
The conference, focused on enhancing global partnerships through the highest standards of freight forwarding services, attracted transport ministers and industry leaders from across the world, all seeking to establish efficient and competitive cargo routes.
During his keynote speech, the Aviation Minister said: “Geographically, we are in the best position to be the real hub of Africa. If you look at the map, we are equidistant to South America across the Atlantic, to Europe, and to Asia. We are about 6 to 7 hours to Doha, Dubai, and Brazil. With our population, we have the dream to develop a real hub for Africa.”
Keyamo further highlighted Nigeria’s untapped aviation potential, citing the significant volume of international traffic originating from the country. However, much of this traffic is currently serviced by foreign airlines.
“If you look at it, most of the flights originating from Nigeria are not indigenous. Airlines from Ethiopia, Egypt, Morocco, and other countries feed on our traffic. They know that Nigerians travel all over the world,” he remarked.
To address this imbalance, the Minister expressed the Nigerian government’s commitment to increasing the capacity of local airlines.
