The United Nations has suspended a vital air transport service in northeast Nigeria, raising concerns over the delivery of humanitarian aid in one of Africa’s most protracted crises.
The U.N. Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), operated by the World Food Programme (WFP), officially ended its fixed-wing operations in the country last week due to severe funding shortfalls. The decision, confirmed by U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric during a press briefing in New York on Wednesday, underscores the financial strain that shrinking donor support is placing on relief missions.
“For nearly a decade, UNHAS flights have been a lifeline for aid workers and relief supplies reaching conflict-affected communities,” Dujarric said. “In 2024 alone, the service carried more than 9,000 passengers. Already this year, 4,500 humanitarian staff have depended on these flights to reach affected areas.”
The closure is expected to significantly disrupt humanitarian access across Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe States, where insecurity, poor infrastructure, and long travel distances often make road movements unsafe or impossible. UNHAS aircraft had provided reliable transport for aid workers, medicines, and food assistance into towns otherwise cut off by armed conflict and banditry.
Humanitarian organisations warn that without the service, ongoing relief operations—including nutrition, health, and food security programmes—will face delays, potentially putting millions of vulnerable people at further risk. The northeast has endured over a decade of insurgency and displacement, with the U.N. estimating that more than 8 million people remain in urgent need of assistance.
The U.N. has appealed to donors to urgently mobilise funds to restore the flights, stressing that the suspension is not only a logistical setback but also a threat to the safety of humanitarian personnel who may now be forced to rely on more dangerous transport routes.
Observers say the development highlights a broader challenge for global humanitarian funding, as conflicts and disasters worldwide stretch limited resources and force difficult trade-offs.
