SAD | UN Suspends Humanitarian Air Service in Nigeria Over Funding Shortfall

The United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) has halted its fixed-wing operations in Nigeria after running out of funds, the UN announced in New York.

UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists that the service, run by the World Food Programme (WFP), ended flights last week after nine years of transporting aid workers, medical supplies and critical cargo to crisis-hit Borno and Yobe states.

“In a country that has endured 16 years of conflict, where road transport remains extremely dangerous, air transport is essential,” Dujarric said, warning that humanitarian access to the region is now at risk.

WFP Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Margot van der Velden, said the agency urgently requires $130 million to sustain emergency food and nutrition support for 1.3 million people in northeast Nigeria over the next six months. She warned that without new resources, operations would be suspended, leaving millions facing worsening hunger and heightened risks of displacement or exploitation by armed groups.

In 2024, UNHAS carried more than 9,000 passengers, while some 4,500 humanitarian staff have already depended on the service this year. According to the UN, $5.4 million is needed to keep the air service running for the next six months.

Despite the funding crisis, Velden praised the Nigerian government for stepping up as the largest financier of the emergency response in the northeast.

“Without this funding, the humanitarian response in northeast Nigeria risks being cut off from the very people it is meant to serve,” Dujarric said.