International Airports in Nigeria

The international airports in Nigeria are available for the incoming and outgoing of both Nigerian and foreign citizens. And the airports are also located where the Nigerian Immigration Service and passport offices have their base.

Presently, Nigeria has around 31 airports scattered across the states of the country. But just a handful of them are of international standard and are capable of running operations of flights for every individual that wants to travel out of the country or into the country.

If you are presently organizing yourself to travel in or out of the country, and you don’t know pretty much about the international airports in Nigeria that can operate that for you. Then this article is what you need.

International Airports in Nigeria

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria at the moment has about 31 airports under them, and that number will surely increase in years to come. The downside is that not all of these airports are capable of operating international flights.

At the moment, there are 11 international airports in Nigeria, and just 5 of them are in operation. We will be taking a look at these airports and where they are located.

Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja

The Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport is one of the functional airports located in the country’s capital, Abuja. The airport sits on roughly 20 KM of land and holds both international and domestic airports.

The Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport was named after former Nigeria leader Nnamdi Azikiwe. It operates over 4 million local and international air passengers every year. And according to the FAAN, the airport is capable of handling nearly 11 Million passengers every year. This will come up if they need to.

A lot of the big international airlines like Ethiopian Airlines, Air France, Air Peace, Value Jet, Med-view Airlines, and a host of other airlines work from there to different places all over the world. It is a favorite choice for citizens from outside the country or tourists because of how close it is to different tourist attractions and other fascinating stuff.

Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport

The Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport is one of the international airports in Nigeria located in Kano State. The airport base was previously known as the Royal Airforce station before Nigeria got its independence in 1960.

This is the oldest airport in Nigeria, and another fascinating thing about it is that it is also the first to have received an airplane. i.e., the first airplane in Nigeria landed there in 1922. The transportation of passengers in the airport began in 1936. And till today, operations are still fully on in the airport.

The Mallam Aminu Kano airport is one of the international airports in Nigeria that operates both passenger and military air travel (Nigerian Airforce operates there). Aminu Kano International Airport handles equally local and international flights. Fast forward to 2018, the airport had transported about 500,000 passengers.

SEE: List of Airlines in Nigeria with Their Destinations

Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos

Murtala Muhammed International Airport is amongst the popular international airports in Nigeria, and it sits right in the capital of Lagos State, Ikeja, Nigeria. To this moment, the airport is the biggest airport in Nigeria, and also the It is Nigeria’s biggest and the airport that is full of activity the most in Nigeria.

This wasn’t the name it was recognized with in the past. The airport was previously known as Lagos International Airport. But due to the new turn of events, it was given a new name after the late former Nigerian Military head, Murtala Muhammed in the 1970s.

The airport has both local and international airports, and they are just some 1km away from each other, but they both share the same runway.

Murtala Muhammed airport in Lagos entertains more than 7 million passengers yearly and all the main international airlines in Nigeria have their base of operation there. There is also a popular belief that the Muritala Muhammed airport is one of the largest in Africa.

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Port Harcourt International Airport

The Port Harcourt International Airport is also one of the international airports in Nigeria that still functions. It is situated in the popular capital place of Port Harcourt in Rivers State, Nigeria. The airport is majorly for the natives of the state, and also states that are close by in the south southern parts of Nigeria.

Presently, the airport has two terminals (local and international) and commissioning the international terminal by the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, in October 2018.

2019 came by, and the airport already operated more than 1.5 Million international and local passengers. This ranks it as the third airport in the entire country full of activity. Just behind Murtala Muhammed and Nnamdi Azikiwe airport.

Akanu Ibiam International Airport

The Akanu Ibiam International Airport also known as the Enugu Airport, is one of the international airports in Nigeria. It is situated in the heart of the state, which is Enugu State, Nigeria.

The launch of this airport was in 1976, and it operates in almost all of the main cities in the South-Eastern part of the country. Akanu Ibiam was previously referred to as the Enugu Airport. But the preceding brought about the change of name to honor the late Akanu Ibiam who died in the year 1995.

The airport also operates as an exit site for quite a few of the popular international airlines, including Arik Air, Aero Contractors, Air Peace, Med-View Airline, Ethiopian Airlines, and so on. The Akanu Ibiam airport is one of the less eventful international airports in Nigeria.

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Asaba International Airport

The Asaba International Airport is also one of the very few international airports in Nigeria and is situated in the capital of Delta state, which is Asaba in Nigeria. The airport majorly operates in states and some notable cities in the Niger Delta area of the country. And it was commissioned in 2013 for marketable use.

Even now, the airport has been locked down for the time being. And do not transports passengers because of the problems they face with infrastructural development. It is still one of the international airports we have in the country, and they might resume operation in the nearest future.

Kaduna International Airport

The airport was formally launched in 1982 through the running of the Nigerian Airports Authority (NAA) and got its first international air travel in March of 2017. Kaduna International Airport is situated just about 12km away from the city of Kaduna in Kaduna State Nigeria.

The airport was used momentarily as the main international airport in Nigeria. This was due to the closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in January 2017 for infrastructural maintenance and renovation. Today, the airport is still used to operate domestic and international travel.

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Kebbi International Airport 

It Is an airport operating in Birnin Kebbi in the Kebbi State of Nigeria. The airport is 16 kilometers east of Birnin Kebbi, on the Birnin Kebbi-Argungu road.

The runway for the airport was lengthened from what it was before 2,200 meters (7,200 ft) to 3,100 meters (10,200 ft). And was equipped with a fresh ridge and terminal built in 2013. The VOR-DME of Birnin Kebbi is situated on the field.

Dutse International Airport

The Dutse international airport is a recently built airport operating in the city of Dutse. This is in Jigawa State of northern Nigeria. However, the airport is 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) northwest of the city and was launched in 2014 by the former President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan.

Local Airports in Nigeria

as the name indicates, the airports only operate domestically i.e,. air travels within the country. Local airports are not stationed customs and immigration services. This means that they cannot handle air travel to or from an international airport. The airports are equipped with short runways in comparison to international airports.

Sam Mbakwe Airport 

lso referred to as Imo State Airport operates in Owerri, the capital city of Imo State. This is in the southeastern parts of Nigeria. After Lagos, Owerri is one of the fastest-rising, and emerging cities in Nigeria.

Other places operated by the airport are, the buzzing city of Onitsha, the car and producing city of Nnewi in Anambra State, Aba, Umuahia, and Arochukwu in Abia State. The airport also has operations in some parts of Akwa Ibom and Cross River States.

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Shiroro Airstrip

The Shiroro Airstrip is an airport operating Shiroro and the Shiroro Hydroelectric Power Station in Niger State, Nigeria. It has a runway that is just 10 kilometers south of the power station, close to the coast of Lake Shiroro.

Potiskum Airstrip

This is an airstrip operating Potiskum in Nigeria. The number two, the east/west runway might have been present in this airstrip before.

Port Harcourt NAF Base

The airport is situated in Port Harcourt, the capital city of Rivers State, Nigeria. It is a station owned by the Nigerian Air Force. It became popular as a marketable location when the Port Harcourt International Airport was closed.

Since the reopening of the airport, a lot of airlines deserted the base. Nevertheless, The airport still operates in some destinations, since it is nearer to the core than the major airport.

Other Local Airports

• Akwa Ibom Airport: This is an airport operating in Uyo, which is the capital of Akwa-Ibom in Nigeria. The Akwa Ibom airport is 24 kilometers southeast of the capital Uyo, and 16 kilometers northwest of the river port of Oron.
• Azare Airstrip: is a landing strip 10 kilometers south of Azare in Bauchi State, Nigeria.
• Bacita Airstrip: is a landing strip operating Bacita in the Kwara State of Nigeria. It is 5 kilometers from the southwest part of the town.
• Bajoga Northeast Airport is an airport operating Bajoga and the Ashaka Cement Plant in Nigeria. The airport is 10 kilometers away from the northeast of Bajoga and is linked by a straight road to where the cement plant is located.
• Bauchi Airport: It is an airport operating in Bauchi, Nigeria. The previous NE/SW landing strip now functions as a taxiway and has taxiway designs. Slated airline service has been relocated to the latest Bauchi State Airport 23 kilometers north close to the village of Durum
• Bebi Airstrip: is an airport operating Bebi in the Cross River State of Nigeria. It also functions as the airport for the Obudu Mountain Resort. The landing strip is 18 kilometers east of the town of Obudu.

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More on Local Airports

• Benin Airport: this is an airport operating in Benin City, the capital of Edo State in Nigeria. The landing strip is right in the center of the city.
• Kaduna Air Force Base: The old Kaduna Airport is an airport that operates in Kaduna, the capital of Kaduna State. They have moved its general usage and airport codes to Kaduna International Airport, which is just 17 kilometers to the northwest.
• Jalingo Airport is one of the local airports operating in Jalingo, the capital of Taraba State in Nigeria. When the sporadic construction was done, the improved airport was launched in 2014. The landing strip length has 375 meters shifted edge on the west end.
• Katsina Airport: This is one of the local airports operating in katsina, the capital of Katsina State. The landing strip sits on the northeast part of the city. The VOR-DME in Katsina is situated 2.0 sailing miles (3.7 km) northeast of the airport.
• Yakubu Gowon Airport JOS: also referred to as Jos Airport, is an airport operating in Jos, the capital of the Plateau State. The airport was named after Yakubu Gowon, the former Nigerian head of state from 1966 to 1975. Jos non-steering beacon is just 1.5 sailing miles (2.8 km) east of the airport.

FAQs for International Airports in Nigeria

The best international airport in Nigeria is the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. It is the busiest airport in Nigeria and one of the most sought-after international airports in Africa.