By Dickson Omobola
The decision of fast-growing Nigerian carrier, ValueJet, to launch operations to Accra, Ghana, is generating fresh concerns in the aviation industry, with many expressing worries about growing congestion on the route.
Despite the unease that greeted the announcement, excitement is building within the airline’s management as the inaugural flight, which is in two days’ time, draws closer.
There are three Nigerian airlines already operating to Ghana, including the country’s largest carrier, Air Peace; Akwa Ibom state-owned Ibom Air and United Nigeria Airlines, UNA.
Although Ibom Air and Air Peace operate into the Kotoka International Airport from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, UNA, which commenced operations late last year, serves the route from Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
Competition
Two foreign airlines are also competing with Nigerian carriers on the busy Accra route, and they are Accra-based African World Airlines, AWA, and Lomé-based ASKY Airlines.
Data from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, show that AWA operates about 20 weekly frequencies into Lagos and seven into Abuja, bringing the total number of weekly flights to 27.
Yet, industry experts told Saturday Vanguard that when codeshare arrangements are considered, the airline’s capacity and market reach make it even more challenging for Nigerian carriers to compete.
They also argued that with ASKY Airlines Lomé hub and partnerships with major international carriers, it has maintained a grip on the West Coast.
Analysts say this network advantage makes it difficult for Nigerian airlines to dislodge them or reclaim dominance on the route.
Findings by Saturday Vanguard revealed that, back in the day, carriers such as Nigeria Airways, Virgin Nigeria and Bellview were very dominant on the route.
Today, this is no longer the case as major Nigerian airlines are still working to ramp up their capacity, institute and strengthen corporate governance, improve schedule integrity and attract foreign partners to enable them compete.
Besides those steps, Federal Government’s move to help them access better leasing and financing opportunities, and rebuild the old terminal at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport with modern transit facilities, is expected to support these efforts.
Justification
Despite concerns about possible overcapacity, expansion into the West African sub-region remains a core strategy for Nigerian airlines seeking to establish regional relevance.
Therefore, the Nigeria-Ghana route, which is considered a lucrative route, becomes the go-to destination.
ValueJet’s Managing Director, Capt. Omololu Majekodunmi, emphasised this fact when he said the Accra route is central to the airline’s goal of facilitating seamless, affordable connectivity along the West African coast.
Majekodunmi, in a statement made available to Saturday Vanguard, said: “We are thrilled to commence our regional service with the inaugural flight between Lagos and Accra slated for March 30, 2026. This is a significant step for ValueJet as we expand our network beyond Nigeria and across the African continent.
“With this new route, we aim to enhance connectivity between Nigeria and Ghana, fostering tourism, trade and tighter economic and cultural ties.
“We are hopeful our Accra-Lagos-Accra service will make a seamless connection between Nigeria and Ghana an exciting possibility, as well as boost the economy of the two countries in unimaginable ways. We are proud to play a part in bridging distances and fostering closer economic ties between the people and businesses of Nigeria, Ghana, and beyond, and opening new opportunities for trade and tourism.”
Like him, Chairman of UNA, Professor Obiora Okonkwo, also justified the carrier’s decision to start flights to the route.
At the airline’s inaugural flight, he said: “In terms of the saturation of the market, at least from available data, out of the whole region of West Africa, traffic from Nigeria to Accra is more than all the other regional flights. 50 per cent of the traffic is between Nigeria and Accra. So, it is still a place to compete.”
Additionally, at the FAAN National Aviation Conference in Lagos, themed: ‘Elevating the Nigerian Aviation Industry through Investment and Global Engagements’, held in Lagos last year, he said the over 200,000 seats on the Nigeria-Accra route make it the most lucrative regional route for Nigerian airlines.
Experts’ views
Sharing their thoughts on the development, experts told Saturday Vanguard that although fears of saturation exist, factors such as aircraft type, proper scheduling and partnerships will determine the success of Nigerian airlines on the route.
General Secretary of the Aviation Roundtable Initiative, Mr Olumide Ohunayo, said: “I want to respect every airline’s corporate objective. Remember, when Air Peace insisted on getting Heathrow, they were criticised in the industry. With the support of the current Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, it took them a while to get approval to fly to Heathrow.
Strategy
“They have been doing very well on that route. You do not know what the strategy of any airline is until they start it. ValueJet has performed very well on the domestic front. They have had little or no delays with cancellations. I think that when an airline grows and moves slowly or doing what I call baby steps, we need to encourage them.
“They have moved on to the West Coast by starting with Ghana. Yes, we might have a situation whereby people say the route is saturated, but remember that Ghana is the second highest international route for Nigerian international passengers after London. If the idea is to increase the number of Nigerians that go there or capture the market, there is nothing bad in doing that.
“ValueJet must have done their marketing analysis, marketing investigation before making that decision. It could even be one of the conditions given by a foreign partner airline that they do not only need them to be strong on the domestic routes but to help them distribute passengers beyond Nigeria.
“With the type of aircraft (CRJ-1000) they (ValueJet) use, they might not easily run into problems. They will have to build over a period of time before they can really capture the market. They just need to work on the scheduling and see what time is best for them.”
Excess capacity
Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer of Belujane Konzult, Chris Aligbe, lamented the excess capacity on the route, but said Nigerian carriers must coordinate schedules and partner with one another to succeed.
According to him, they also need strong corporate governance to attract foreign airline partners and feed passengers into their networks.
He said: “They need to engage in schedule coordination because they will all be competing without making it. They have to coordinate their schedule in a way that they are in a form of alliance or codeshare arrangement. I say this because none of them has a proper alliance among themselves and any major airline.
“AWA flies 27 times into Nigeria weekly. But it is not just Ghana, they have 10 world class partners. So, it is feeding our passengers into its network. These are passengers that would have been carried by our airlines if they had alliances. They are achieving this with only eight aircraft. They (Nigerian airlines) are putting excess capacity on the route. Our airlines need to cooperate among themselves and ensure their schedules are properly coordinated to enable them succeed.”
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