Running a private airport in Nigeria is not for the faint-hearted, especially when converting a publicly-run facility into a commercially viable operation.
That is the clear message from the Director of the Asaba International Airport, Mr. Christophe Pennick who gave a candid account of the hurdles and hard-earned progress under his leadership.
Speaking at a recent aviation stakeholder forum in Lagos, Mr. Pennick laid bare the challenges that accompanied the transformation of Asaba Airport from a state-run entity to a privately managed facility.
According to him, the first and perhaps most daunting challenge was overhauling a broken system burdened with unqualified personnel and a culture of laxity.
“When we took over, there were 128 government-assigned staff. Only two agreed to stay on under the new management. Many of them came from unrelated ministries, agriculture, transport, even entertainment and barely showed up for work”.
“At interviews, they asked us if they actually had to come to work. That was the mindset.”
Retraining and hiring new staff became inevitable, but it came at a cost both financially and operationally.
According to Mr. Pennick, it is a major investment to bring people up to speed in a sensitive and highly regulated industry like aviation.
Beyond staffing, he pointed to a widespread misconception that airports are cash cows.
While airports may seem lucrative on paper due to the large sums they handle, Pennick emphasized that the operating costs are often just as massive if not more so especially for smaller regional airports like Asaba.
“People see the income and forget the outflows,” he said.
“Running a runway alone is a huge expense, the maintenance, equipment, landscaping, wildlife management, and constant repairs. We charge ₦25,000 per landing, which is about 13 Euros. That alone cannot sustain the cost of operating and maintaining the runway.”
The Director also highlighted the unique financial burden borne by state airports.
Unlike federal airports under the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Asaba Airport pays service charges to multiple federal agencies, NAMA, NIMET, and others with no subsidies.
Despite these limitations, Asaba Airport has seen considerable growth in traffic, placing it in the category of medium-sized airports in Nigeria.
Still, Mr. Pennick believes many smaller airports across the country are not financially sustainable.
“Some of them have just two or three flights a week, and government has to pay airlines to land there. That’s not a model that can last.”
He argued for regional consolidation, citing how close Anambra, Benin, Enugu, and Abakaliki airports are to one another.
“In Europe, such redundancy would be considered inefficient. One well-equipped airport could serve the entire region better and still turn a profit.”
To keep the airport viable, Asaba invested in advanced infrastructure such as a new Instrument Landing System (ILS), even though Mr. Pennick admits it’s unlikely to recoup the cost over its 15-20 year lifespan.
“These are long-term investments for the benefit of passengers and airlines. But the return on investment? Practically zero.”
The Asaba Airport Director, believes the only viable way forward for Nigerian airports is through genuine partnerships not just public-private partnerships in name, but cooperative frameworks where state governments, private investors, and host communities all pull in the same direction.
Reflecting on the airport’s journey, he praised the Delta State Government, particularly former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, for supporting the concession model.
“Before the concession, the airport ran on a ₦2 billion annual subsidy. Today, not only has the state eliminated that burden, but it also earns revenue from us. We employ 170 people, over 60% of whom are Deltans.”
According to him, even cultural resistance had to be tackled.
For years, high-ranking individuals refused to pay tolls and parking fees at the airport, often claiming status and privilege.
“It took us four years, but now, about 95% of users understand that services must be paid for. We even have an agreed protocol list with the State Government on who’s entitled to what.”
As Nigeria’s aviation sector continues to grapple with economic headwinds, Mr. Pennick acknowledged the broader struggles affecting both airlines and airports.
He cited a severe decline in passenger volumes, weakened currencies, and reduced airline fleets.
Still, he remains cautiously optimistic. “We’re not where we want to be, but we’re getting there. We have competent professionals at the helm, and the regulatory agencies from NCAA to FAAN are finally thinking like businesspeople. With continued reforms and cooperation, we’ll get it right.”
In an industry where sustainability is elusive, the Asaba Airport experience offers a hard-won case study in grit, reform, and the high price of transformation.
Reporting by Nosa Aituamen