The United Nations has suspended a crucial air service in Nigeria’s northeast due to severe funding shortages. The U.N. Humanitarian Air Service, operated by the World Food Programme, ended its fixed-wing operations in the country after nearly a decade of transporting aid workers and supplies into conflict zones.
In 2024, the service carried over 9,000 passengers, and this year, 4,500 humanitarian staff have relied on it to reach affected areas. However, the service requires $5.4 million to remain operational for the next six months. Without this funding, the humanitarian response in northeast Nigeria risks being cut off from the people it is meant to serve.
The shutdown comes as the World Food Programme faces dire financial shortfalls, having warned in July that it might be forced to suspend emergency food and nutrition aid for 1.3 million people in the region. The closure threatens to deepen the country’s most protracted humanitarian emergencies, which have been exacerbated by 16 years of conflict.
The Nigerian government has provided significant support to relief efforts in the northeast, but international contributions remain crucial to sustaining operations at scale. The U.N. has appealed for $5.4 million to sustain food and nutrition operations in the region for six months. The loss of the air service may further isolate vulnerable populations, forcing families into desperate choices such as enduring worsening hunger, migrating in unsafe conditions, or falling prey to extremist groups.
The humanitarian response in northeast Nigeria is at risk of being severely impaired, with critical aid pipelines potentially collapsing unless donors step in. The U.N. has warned that the consequences could be devastating, with millions already grappling with hunger, displacement, and violence. The shutdown is a result of shrinking donor budgets, driven by global economic pressures and competing crises worldwide. The suspension of the air service highlights the need for urgent funding to prevent a further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in northeast Nigeria.
