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For decades, Nigerian international airports operated as offline islands in a connected world—until last week.
In the early 2020s, major airports across the globe began installing Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) systems for air travellers, significantly improving passenger comfort. Before this innovation, international arrivals often meant scrambling to buy local SIM cards just to make a call home. Wi-Fi changed that, transforming airports into spaces where productivity, connectivity, and real-time information access became seamless.
According to 7Signal.com, “No matter where you are in the world, working in the travel business can come with a long list of challenges. The top priority, of course, is customer satisfaction, and a big part of that relies on a consistent and reliable Wi-Fi connection.”
Over the years, Wi-Fi connection quality has become a significant factor in airport ratings—viewed by passengers and rating agencies alike as a fundamental utility for modern travel, with its performance directly impacting customer satisfaction and Skytrax star ratings.
Nigeria’s Late but Welcome Entry
Nigeria, however, joined the party very late. For several years, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) made efforts to connect the then four major airports to Wi-Fi, but failed. The first attempt, a collaboration with indigenous network provider Globacom, raised high expectations among travellers—only to be dashed by poor connectivity and eventual extinction.
But last week, FAAN and Nigeria’s biggest network provider, MTN, launched a partnership to connect the country’s five major airports, starting with the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
A Defining Moment for Lagos Airport
With the Wi-Fi connection, Lagos airport became more competitive in global ratings. FAAN’s Managing Director, Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku, confirmed the installation and described the rollout as more than a convenience—calling it an essential amenity in passenger comfort.
Kuku noted that airports are no longer mere transit lounges but micro-cities where contracts are negotiated, diplomatic briefs are reviewed, and life’s most emotional reunions unfold in real time.
During a demonstration, with the flick of a switch, waiting areas were transformed into connected workspaces. Airport users and travellers could now connect to any part of the world with their cell phones.
A Public-Private Partnership Model
FAAN confirmed that the service comes at no cost to the Authority or to passengers. According to the Director of Commercial and Business Development, Ms. Joy Agunbiade, the arrangement is structured as a Public-Private Partnership, with MTN leveraging branding rights within airport spaces to offset operational expenses.
The agency said brand ambassadors have been deployed across terminals to guide travellers through the simple log-on process, while strict data protection safeguards are embedded within the system.
“In fact, in this moment, we do have offices and admissions offices where you can go and study such in-house of what could be offered to you. We are going to have brand ambassadors across the airport that will engage customers who may find it difficult to go through the journey,” Agunbiade said.
Expansion Plans Underway
FAAN announced that expansion plans were already underway, with Kano, Port Harcourt, and Enugu airports set to join the network in the coming months. As the first wave of passengers logged on, the message was unmistakable: Nigeria’s aviation gateways are shedding their image of “offline islands” and embracing a connected future.
For MTN Nigeria, the initiative underscores the commercial and social value of public-private collaboration. Representing the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Karl Toriola, the company’s Chief Enterprise Business Officer, Mrs. Cynthia Saint-Nwafor, said the network was engineered to handle heavy passenger traffic, supported by smart analytics to monitor usage patterns and maintain performance.
The Efficiency Challenge
Beyond installation, the efficiency of Wi-Fi services remains a challenge. Many African airports have Wi-Fi that appears functional but fails to deliver efficient services. Critics had long bemoaned Nigeria’s failure to install Wi-Fi at its international airports, where arriving passengers need to communicate with loved ones overseas. Some attributed the delay to the fact that Nigerian network providers face epileptic power supply and must generally provide their own power.
However, many airport users have commended FAAN boss Mrs. Kuku, who has overseen tremendous changes in airport infrastructure transformation. With the introduction of Wi-Fi at Lagos airport, it joins the ranks of highly rated airports in Nigeria. Even industry critics have acknowledged her unusual leadership and apparent competence in managing FAAN.
Why Wi-Fi Matters
It is expected that Wi-Fi connection should be extended to other major airports and further to busy domestic airports, as having Wi-Fi contributes significantly to passenger comfort.
When THISDAY visited the international airport terminal in Lagos on Wednesday, some passengers happily reported connecting to the Wi-Fi, while others said they could not connect. In coming days, it is expected that the network will become more efficient.
An IT online magazine, TechCabal.com, in its April 7, 2025 publication, explained that Nigeria had not provided Wi-Fi at airports because free WiFi doesn’t come cheap. Laying fibre, installing access points, securing bandwidth, and maintaining uptime costs real money. For internet service providers (ISPs), the return on that investment is murky. Free WiFi isn’t a direct revenue driver unless bundled with advertising, user analytics, or other monetized services.
“The airport might start initially paying, but their expectation is the service provider will find a way to make money from the service. So, the airport might pay for installation and maybe a few months of bandwidth. This leaves service providers trying to find a way to commercialize,” Ladi Okuneye, CEO of UniCloud, told TechCabal.
The FAAN Advantage
The report, however, did not take cognizance of the fact that FAAN runs about 26 airports, generating huge sums annually from advertising. MTN’s collaboration with FAAN to provide Wi-Fi at major airports creates enormous opportunities for the network provider to increase its visibility across these 26 airports, which record over 15 million passenger traffic annually.
With this partnership, Nigeria’s aviation sector has finally taken a decisive step toward global standards—one Wi-Fi connection at a time.
