The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) reopened Maiduguri International Airport to commercial traffic on 10 July 2015, ending an 18-month closure imposed by the military after Boko Haram fighters attacked the adjoining Nigerian Air Force base in December 2013, destroying several aircraft on the ground.
A Med-View Airline flight carrying 82 passengers, including officials of the Borno State government, marked the resumption of both local and international services at the airport. Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima described the reopening as a significant moment for residents of the state, who had been without direct air access for a year and a half at the height of the insurgency that has displaced millions of people across Nigeria's north-east.
An Overland Alternative Removed
In the absence of flights, travellers to and from Maiduguri, including intending pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia, had been forced to route overland or through airports in neighbouring states such as Gombe, Kano and Bauchi, journeys that carried their own security risks given the ongoing insurgency across the wider region.
A Gradual Return
The reopening did not mark the end of security concerns around the airport or the wider Borno State capital, and flight schedules in the months that followed remained sensitive to the security situation on the ground. Even so, the resumption of service was treated as an important signal that federal authorities regarded the security situation in Maiduguri as sufficiently stabilised to support commercial aviation, after a period in which the airport had been effectively removed from Nigeria's domestic network.