International airports in Nigeria that are operational and approved is very few in Nigeria.
There are as many as over 30 airports in Nigeria both local and international airports.
However, our focus in this post will be on providing our readers with the updated full list of international airports in Nigeria.
Aviation is one of the sectors on the concurrent list of Nigeria’s government.
This means that both the state and federal government has the mandate to act on issues concerning aviation.
Nevertheless, the approval and major issues boardering on aviation rest on the shoulders of federal government of Nigeria.
International airports in Nigeria are airports that can host both international and local flights.
Not all airports in Nigeria are international airports as there are certain facilities and approvals needed to have an airport approved and certified as international airport in Nigeria.
One thing is that these international airports should be safe for international flights and be able to accommodate international aircrafts.
So, for knowledge and information purpose, this article will be providing our readers with the list of all international airports in Nigeria.
Major International Airports in Nigeria
This post will help our readers find and ascertain the number of international airports in Nigeria and location of all Nigeria’s international airports.
Below is the roll call of major international airports in Nigeria.
How Many International Airports Are In Nigeria?
Nigeria currently has a total of 13 international airports located in different states of Nigeria.
However,not all these Nigeria’s international airports entertains international flights as a result of poor facilities and maintenance.
So, currently there are about 5 major international airports in Nigeria that are operational.
Below is the list of all Nigeria’s international airports and their locations and state.
Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja
Murtala Mohammed International Airport located in Lagos state capital ,Ikeja is Nigeria’s busiest international airport.
It is the biggest and best international airport in Nigeria.
Murtala Mohammed international Airport was formerly known as Lagos International Airport and was later renamed in the ’70s to Murtala Mohammed International Airport to honor the late former Nigeria’s Military head of state “Murtala Mohammed” is Nigeria most used international airport.
Murtala Mohammed international airport is open to both local and international flights operations.
It is the airport with the best runway in Nigeria currently.
According to Nigeria aviation agency, over 7 million airline travelers make use of Murtala Mohammed international airport yearly.
This statistics makes the International airport in Lagos one of the busiest and biggest airports in Africa.
Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja
The Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport is ranked the second busiest international airport in Nigeria.
It is as well rated the second biggest airport in Nigeria. The international airport was opened for operations in the year 2002.
The location of Nnamdi Azikiwe International airport is Abuja, Nigeria’s state capital.
The airport is open to both international and local flights.
It is the airport used by most airline passengers on diplomatic mission to Nigeria.
The international airport was named after Nigeria’s first president, Nnamdi Azikiwe.
Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) estimates that over 4 million passengers travel through the airport annually.
This leaves the airport as Nigeria’s second busiest and biggest international airport.
The airport was built to handle up to 11 million passengers yearly if there is a need for that and most of the classic and top Airlines like Lufthansa, Ethiopian Airlines, Air Peace, Air France and many other airlines convey passengers to and fro the airport.
Port Harcourt International Airport
The Port Harcourt International Airport is one of the major international airports in Nigeria.
The airport is ranked third biggest and busiest airports in Nigeria.
The Port Harcourt International Airport also operates both domestic and international flights.
The airport is located at Omagwa, an outskirt of Port Harcourt city.
This airport is filled with new and modern facilities and in 2019 it was able to move over 1.5 million passengers both domestically and Internationally.
Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport
This international airport is the biggest in northern Nigeria.
The Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport is an international airport located in Kano State, Nigeria, and has been the main airport serving the people traveling to northern Nigeria.
Mallam Aminu Airport was formerly known as the Royal Airforce station before Nigeria gained its independence in 1960 and was later renamed.
Mallam Aminu International Airport is the oldest airport in Nigeria and also the first airport in Nigeria.
In the year 1922, the first aircraft landed in this Kano state airport.
However, the airport started accepting passengers in 1936.
In 2008, the airport recorded over 500,000 both domestic and international passengers, also one of the few airports that serve general use and also the military flights.
Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu
The Akanu Ibiam International Airport is located in Enugu State and is popularly known as the Enugu Airport.
It is the busiest international airport in southeast, Nigeria.
Akanu Ibiam International Airport was established in 1976 and so far has been able to handle flights of both local and international effectively.
The international airport was recently upgraded by the federal government to meet up with international airport facilities of 21st century.
Kaduna International Airport
The Kaduna International Airport was established and officially commissioned in 1982 and is located about 22 kilometers northwest of the city having its first international flight in March 2017.
The airport is operated by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the airport was recently upgraded in 2017 and now serves both domestic flights and international flights.
It is an airport also used by Nigeria Air Force.
Asaba International Airport
The Asaba International Airport is an international airport that was established and opened in 2013, it is located in the capital city of Asaba, Delta state Nigeria and it serves Delta state and it’s neighbouring cities like Onitsha.
The airport has helped reduced traffic at Akanu Ibiam international airport.
The Asaba airport is largely into local flights hosting at the moment.
Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport, Owerri
The Sam Mbakwe Airport unlike others is an international cargo airport which is located in Imo State, Nigeria.
It started operation in 1994 under the regime of Navy Captain J.N. Aneke who was the former military administrator.
The Imo state airport sometimes serves passengers and hosts local flights.
Others International Airports In Nigeria
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Dutse International Airport, Jigawa
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Kebbi International Airport, Kebbi
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Maiduguri International Airport, Borno
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Margaret Ekpo International Airport, Calabar
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Sadiq Abubakar III International Airport, Sokoto
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Anambra International Cargo and Passenger Airport, Umueri
