Millions of dollars in planes lie abandoned across Nigeria’s airports and they cost a staggering amount to maintain

Across Nigeria’s airports, millions of dollars’ worth of planes lie abandoned, slowly rusting away, and there’s a very interesting reason why.

These include famous airliners from the likes of Boeing and Airbus, with nearly 100 dotted around the country, and they’re not easy to maintain.

In fact, it costs a lot of money to maintain these aircraft, even if they are retired.

And the reason why so many aircraft are sitting abandoned across Nigeria makes for a fascinating tale.

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Why Nigeria’s airports are full of abandoned planes

A study in 2021 revealed Nigeria was first in the world for unserviceable aircraft.

This means up to 70 percent of its aircraft are either abandoned or grounded.

A lot of this is down to a poor economy, bad management, and a lack of maintenance.

Corruption, debt, and mismanagement also played a part.

This started with Nigeria Airways, the national airline that once flew the Boeing 747.

By the early 2000s, the airline had collapsed, with over $500 million worth of debt.

Funds for the airline were allegedly used for personal gain, and the airline was then liquidated.

This led to an influx of private airlines, but these very quickly fell by the wayside.

As a result, the airlines grounded their aircraft, selling them off as spares or simply abandoning and scrapping them.

These abandoned aircraft are costing millions to maintain

Each of the aircraft can cost between $500,000 and $1 million to maintain, even if it isn’t flown.

Systems need to be maintained, and engines need to be test-run to ensure they still work correctly.

That has caused a big headache for the companies that own and used to operate the planes.

Some private jets also never had their import duties paid.

Even when the government tried to get rid of the aircraft, the owners would often take them to court.

Insurance premiums have also shot up, meaning insuring a Boeing 737 can cost as much as $1 million per year.

Thankfully, recent reforms are starting to clear up the mess and sort out some of the financial problems.

But there are still plenty of aircraft that sit collecting rust.

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