Gombe Airport battling revenue generation — Administrator

The Sole Administrator of Gombe International Airport, now known as the Brigadier Zakari Maimalari International Airport, Suleiman-Daniel Musa, has disclosed that the airport handles between 250 and 400 passengers daily as the state government intensifies efforts to expand its facilities and attract more airlines.

The administrator, who assumed office in March 2025, disclosed that the airport currently has four airlines operating scheduled flights, compared with the two when he took over.

He said the airport was also capable of handling international operations, although it does not currently have scheduled international flights.

“Internationally, we have, on some occasions, private international flights from Gombe. We do not have scheduled international flights yet. Whenever the need arises, we seek approval from the relevant regulatory agencies to conduct international operations here at the airport,” he said.

According to him, while the airport currently operates scheduled flights on the Abuja-Gombe route, with Friday recording operations by all the airlines, he said the management was negotiating with additional airlines to expand the airport’s route network to other parts of the country, particularly the South and North-West.

“Our plan is also to make Gombe Airport an aviation hub in the North-East,” Musa said.

The administrator attributed the expansion drive to the state government’s investment in the airport, saying the facility had not received significant renovation or upgrade for about 17 to 18 years until the current administration began the process.

“We are in talks with a lot of airlines, trying to see how we can expand our routes and also bring in more airlines. It’s currently under review. We are processing it,” he further disclosed.

He explained that inadequate office space is also currently one of the major constraints preventing additional airlines from commencing operations at the airport.

“You cannot bring in airlines when you don’t have enough space to accommodate them. If we bring in more airlines as the management comes to operate in Gombe and we have an office-space deficiency, then it’s going to cause a strain in the operations,” he said.

However, the administrator noted that the ongoing renovation was expected to address the challenge, with additional offices and facilities being provided for prospective operators.

On the duration of the renovation, he assured that most of the construction work directly affecting passenger facilitation was nearing completion, with the entire process expected to take about two months.

“We’re looking at about two months; we will be able to complete all the necessary construction and all,” he noted.

Musa, meanwhile, observed that work on the international terminal and other facilities would take longer because passenger safety and regulatory requirements had to be taken into consideration.

The administrator also explained that the airport’s inability to operate scheduled flights at night was not due to a complete absence of facilities for night operations. Rather, he said the airport’s approved operating window was from 7 am to 6 pm, but flights could operate beyond the closing time after securing an extension.

“The airport operates from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. That is the window that is given to operate,” he said.

According to him, airlines seeking to operate after 6pm are required to notify the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency and airport management so that the necessary personnel and facilities can be made available.

“When the management confirms that there will be an extension, which means an operation beyond the closing-hours period, we notify all the other stakeholders,” he said, even as he disclosed that the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency charges N200,000 per hour for an extension, while the airport management charges about N300,000 per hour.

He also revealed that the airport had successfully handled night operations, including flights during the 2026 Hajj exercise.

“During Hajj operations, I think on two occasions the flight came in at night, on both the airlift and return. The flight landed directly from Saudi Arabia, came to Gombe and landed successfully before going to Kano,” he explained.

“All of our equipment, our runway and our floodlights were functioning. Nothing stopped the operation.”

He attributed the absence of regular scheduled night flights largely to passenger demand, saying airlines would consider such operations if sufficient patronage existed.

The administrator equally disclosed that a baggage conveyor belt was part of the ongoing airport upgrade after management identified baggage handling as a major challenge.

“When we came on board, we noticed the chaos and rowdiness of passenger baggage facilitation, and we took it immediately to His Excellency, and he gave us the go-ahead,” he said.

“There is no way we can continue to have the airport conduct its facilitation or operations without a conveyor belt. It’s a facilitation issue.”

As such, he maintained that the facility would improve baggage handling and reduce incidents associated with manual baggage management.

The administrator also said the longstanding water shortage at the airport would be addressed through the ongoing project.

To this effect, he said that the management had conducted investigations and identified the possibility of drilling a borehole within the airport environment.

“I think around the environment we’ve been able to find that we’ll be able to dig a borehole and supply water to the airport,” stressing, however, that the plan was not limited to the airport, as the management intended to extend the water supply to surrounding host communities.

“Our goal is not to supply water just for the airport alone. We have host communities around the airport. These are our people as well,” he said.

Musa said the airport had not relied on the national grid for some time, explaining that the management preferred generators because of the need for reliable electricity for critical aviation operations.

“The reason why we are not on the national grid… is reliability,” he said.

“This is an airport. We need to have a constant supply of power. The moment power goes off from the national grid, it’s something beyond our control.”

He said the airport may reconsider its position as operations expanded and if a reliable arrangement with the electricity distribution company could be secured.

On security, the administrator acknowledged that the airport had faced challenges but assured that additional security personnel had been deployed.

“We want to revamp the whole security architecture of the airport across all of the expansion that we’re doing,” he said.

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He listed the police, Department of State Services, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and aviation security personnel, among the agencies involved in securing the airport.

He explained that on days without scheduled flights, security personnel remained at the facility to protect the airport and its assets.

The administrator admitted that the airport was yet to generate enough revenue to cover its operating costs, saying the facility currently relied substantially on government funding.

“As I’m talking to you, we are currently relying on the government’s submission to the EU to manage the airport,” he said.

He claimed that management reforms had increased revenue by 32 per cent since he assumed office.

Even at that, Musa acknowledged that revenue remained significantly below expenditure.

“When you juxtapose it with what is being spent on the airport, you realise that the revenue inflow hasn’t been very, very encouraging, because it’s almost about 70-30 per cent,” he said.

He opened up more, revealing that the management was working to transform the airport into a government enterprise by developing additional revenue streams.

“The airport hasn’t operated as a business, but we are turning it into a government enterprise, whereby we’ll be able to exploit all the necessary or available revenue streams,” he said.

On manpower, he again admitted that the airport had shortages across several departments but confided that the government had assured management that the problem would be addressed.

He clarified that the cleaners at the airport were not the state government’s employees but people engaged from surrounding communities on an ad hoc basis.

“They are not on the government’s payroll or anything,” he said.

Nonetheless, the administrator said the management had assured the workers that their outstanding payments would be settled.

On plans to hand over the airport to the federal government, he said plans were still ongoing, despite several years of discussions and technical processes.

He stressed that the process involved the Federal Ministry of Aviation, Federal Ministry of Finance and Federal Ministry of Lands, whose teams had visited the airport for verification and inspection.

“As a matter of fact, quite recently, I received information that the memo has been sent to the President. So we’re very, very hopeful that maybe in no distant time, FAAN will come and take over the airport,” he said.

He noted that the state government would continue the ongoing renovation even if the federal government assumed control of the airport.

“All of the things that we said we are going to do, all of the projects that His Excellency has approved for the airport will be completed regardless of whether the federal government takes over or not, because the state government wants to hand over the airport in good condition,” he said

The administrator, who put daily passenger traffic at between 250 and 400, depending on the day, explained further, “In a day, we have about 250 minimum to as much as 400 persons in a day, in a single day.”

While identifying  Mondays, Fridays and Sundays as some of the busier days, he noted that passenger traffic could rise beyond 400 on some days. These fluctuations in demand affected airline scheduling.

“That is just the Abuja-Gombe route. Think about it when we expand the other routes,” he said.

On allegations that the state government subsidised airlines because of low patronage, the administrator described such support as route development rather than a response to losses, reminding, “There’s what is called route development.”

He explained that airlines could request government support when opening new routes and trying to establish sufficient patronage. “Such support could include marketing assistance, waivers or other incentives, depending on the circumstances.

“We want the state to grow and the aviation sector of the state to grow,” he said.

Musa, also disclosed that the ongoing renovation would address shortcomings in toilet facilities and passenger lounges, adding that the airport’s original design included separate male and female departure lounges but acknowledged that the arrangement could create congestion.

“In this expansion, we are going to provide for both male and female there, and then we’ll make sure that that separation is being facilitated,” he said.

He said toilet facilities would also be upgraded with improved materials as part of efforts to meet international aviation standards.

The administrator further disclosed that the arrival and departure halls, which currently share the same space, would be separated.

“Currently, we have the arrival hall and the departure hall using the same hall. But we are going to divide them and let the arrival hall be for arrival, and then the departure hall be for departure,” he said.

He noted that the separation would improve security and passenger movement.

The administrator said he was optimistic about the airport’s future, urging stakeholders and members of the public to provide feedback on its operations.

“A lot of things are coming in, a lot of facilities are coming in, a lot of policy adjustments are going to be enacted, just to make sure that the airport continues to grow,” he pointed out.

“It will be to our credit, all of us, when Gombe State has a very, very well-functioning airport,” Musa remarked.