By Atoyebi Nike
The United Nations has suspended a vital air service in northeast Nigeria, warning that the shutdown could severely undermine humanitarian access in one of Africa’s longest-running crises.
The U.N. Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), managed by the World Food Programme (WFP), ceased its fixed-wing operations last week after nine years of transporting aid workers, medical supplies, and cargo into remote conflict zones in Borno and Yobe states.
U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric announced the decision in New York on Wednesday, noting that $5.4 million is urgently required to sustain the service for the next six months. “Without this funding, the humanitarian response in northeast Nigeria risks being cut off from the very people it is meant to serve,” he said.
In 2024 alone, UNHAS transported more than 9,000 passengers. This year, over 4,500 humanitarian staff have already depended on the service to reach areas cut off by violence, where road transport remains highly dangerous.
The shutdown comes as the WFP itself confronts major budget shortfalls. In July, the agency warned it might be forced to suspend emergency food assistance for 1.3 million people in the northeast. Margot van der Velden, WFP’s regional director for West and Central Africa, cautioned that without new donor support, both food aid and humanitarian mobility could collapse.
Nigeria’s government has increased its own contributions and now ranks as the largest financier of the relief effort. However, international support remains indispensable to maintain large-scale operations.
Aid officials warn that without reliable air transport, families in conflict-affected communities may face worsening hunger, displacement, and exploitation by extremist groups. The suspension highlights how shrinking global aid budgets stretched across crises from Gaza to Sudan to Ukraine are leaving vulnerable populations further at risk.
