23 August 1958 (1958-08-23) (after the dissolution of WAAC)
Commenced operations
1 October 1958 (1958-10-01)
Ceased operations
2003 (2003)
Hubs
Murtala Muhammed International Airport
Secondary hubs
Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport
Focus cities
Port Harcourt International Airport
Destinations
9 (at the time of closure)
Parent company
Government of Nigeria (100%)
Headquarters
Abuja, FCT, Nigeria
Key people
Peter Gana (CEO) (at the time of closure)[1]: 51
Nigeria Airways Ltd., more commonly known as Nigeria Airways, was a Nigerian airline. The company was founded in 1958 after the dissolution of West African Airways Corporation (WAAC). It held the name West African Airways Corporation Nigeria (WAAC Nigeria) until 1971, when it was rebranded to the name it had until it ceased operations in 2003. The government of Nigeria owned a majority of the airline (51%) until 1961, when it boosted its shareholding in the company to 100% and made it the country's flag carrier. At the time of dissolution, the airline's headquarters were at Airways House in Abuja. Operations were concentrated at Murtala Muhammed International Airport and served both domestic and international destinations mainly concentrated in West Africa; the network also had points in Europe, North America and Saudi Arabia. The airline was managed by a number of foreign companies, including British Airways, KLM and South African Airways.[2][3]
Nigeria Airways had its heyday in the early 1980s, just before the departure of a KLM team that had been hired to make the airline efficient and profitable. At that time, its fleet consisted of about 30 aircraft, but the carrier was two years behind with its accounts to the extent that aircraft were acquired for cash.[4][5][6] Owned or leased, the carrier operated a variety of aircraft during its history, including the Vickers VC10, the Airbus A310, the Boeing 737 and 747 and the McDonnell Douglas DC-10, of which it flew the last one ever built. Plagued by mismanagement, corruption, and overstaffing, at the time of closure the airline had debts totalling US$528 million (equivalent to US$838 million in 2023), a poor safety record, and its operative fleet comprised a single aircraft flying domestic routes as well as two leased aircraft operating the international network.[7][8] Nigeria Airways was succeeded by Virgin Nigeria, and the ground facilities were taken over by Arik Air.
^Cite error: The named reference FI2003-50 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Falcons' Victory, Nigeria Airways Failure; Metaphors Nigeria’s Malaise was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Nigerian pilots threaten strike action was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Nigeria Airways halves workforce was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Africa's fastest-growing airline-II was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Africa's fastest-growing airline-IV was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Virgin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Nigeria gets tough on air safety was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
dissolution of West African Airways Corporation (WAAC). It held the name West African Airways Corporation Nigeria (WAAC Nigeria) until 1971, when it was...
Air Nigeria (originally Virgin NigeriaAirways, and then Nigerian Eagle Airlines) was the national flag carrier of Nigeria, which operated scheduled regional...
NigeriaAirways Flight 2120 was a chartered passenger flight from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to Sokoto, Nigeria, on 11 July 1991, which caught fire shortly...
NigeriaAirways Flight 357 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Yola Airport in Yola to Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, with...
On 22 January 1973, a NigeriaAirways Boeing 707 crashed while attempting to land at Kano International Airport. It is the deadliest aviation disaster...
Overland Airways is an airline based in Ikeja in Lagos State, Nigeria. Its main base is Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, with a hub at...
Nigeria in 2001 in recognition of these security improvements.[citation needed] Through its joint venture with NigeriaAirways, South African Airways...
November 1969, NigeriaAirways Flight 825, a Vickers VC10 aircraft, crashed while on approach to Lagos International Airport in Lagos, Nigeria killing all...
On Monday, October 25, 1993, a NigerianAirways Airbus A310 flight from Lagos to Abuja was hijacked by 4 teenagers aged 16 and 18. Richard Ogunderu, Kabir...
NigeriaAirways was founded on 23 August 1958.: 51 It succeeded the folded West African Airways Corporation (WAAC), and was initially named WAAC Nigeria...
International Airport in Port Harcourt. Nigeria had in the past operated state-owned airline NigeriaAirways which was over-indebted in 2003 and was bought...
NigeriaAirways Flight 9805 was a cargo flight from King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah to Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano...
form Brussels Airlines) Virgin Express France Virgin NigeriaAirways (rebranded as Air Nigeria) Virgin Sun (sold and merged into Air 2000) Virgin Group...
inherited by WAAC (Nigeria), that operated as "NigerianAirways" effective 1 October 1958. WAAC (Nigeria) was later rebranded NigeriaAirways. The WAAC livery...
agreement with NigeriaAirways, under which Ghana Airways utilised Nigerian Fokker F27s on domestic routes and NigeriaAirways employed Ghana Airways Viscounts...
July 1991, a wet-leased Nationair Canada Douglas DC-8 operating as NigeriaAirways Flight 2120 caught fire shortly after takeoff and crashed just seconds...
Green Africa Airways Ltd is a Nigerian airline, based in Lagos, Nigeria. The airline was founded in 2015 and commenced flights on 12 August 2021. Green...
one of 11 on board. July 13 – In the 1928 Imperial Airways Vickers Vulcan crash, an Imperial Airways Vickers Vulcan on a test flight from Croydon Airport...
NigeriaAirways Flight 250 was a domestic Nigerian flight from Ikeja to Enugu that crashed at 11:13 a.m. on the morning of November 28, 1983. On approach...
commercial aviation actually came to Nigeria. The Imperial Airways, the forerunner of the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), operated large four-engined...
NigeriaAirways’ First & Only Female Pilot, Information Nigeria, 20 June 2015. Accessed 16 May 2020. Late Hadiza Lantana Oboh: Ex-NigerianAirways pilot...
as of 2024[update], it is the second-deadliest, behind the crash of NigeriaAirways Flight 2120 nearly six years later. The accident was investigated by...
third-deadliest involving a DC-8, after Arrow Air Flight 1285R and NigeriaAirways Flight 2120. At the time of the crash, it was the second-deadliest...
Nigerian office in "The Place" in Ikeja. At one point, NigeriaAirways had its head office in Airways House. Before it was dissolved, Afrijet Airlines had...
Global Information