The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, has said only 3 of Nigeria’s 22 international and domestic airports are profitable.

The Managing Director of FAAN, Olubunmi Kuku disclosed this on Tuesday during a Channels Television interview monitored by AR

He noted that 19 of the nation’s airports were being subsidized as they do not get passenger traffic commensurate to their operational cost.

According to her, the majority of the 22 airports managed by FAAN required an upgrade of critical infrastructure: the terminal areas, the landside as well as the airside.

The FAAN boss said many of the runways at the airports in the country have exceeded the 20-year validity period and were due for an upgrade, noting that the airport authority would focus on some of those developmental goals this year.

“I would say that based on the stats today, only three of the 22 airports are actually profitable and contribute largely to the sustenance of the airport companies that we run.

“I would also say that we are cross-subsidizing the other 19 airports today and in most instances, we will substitute or cross-subsidize for some of the airports that are coming on board as well,” he said.

Kuku stressed that the country should concentrate on optimising activities rather than building new airports.

“Rather than building new airports, we need to look at the bottom of the value chain to determine what activities can drive traffic into these airports,” Kuku added