By: Chioma Madonna Ndukwu
UN Halts Air Operations in Nigeria
The United Nations has suspended its humanitarian air service in northeast Nigeria after running out of funds, raising concerns about aid delivery to millions in conflict-hit areas.
The UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), operated by the World Food Programme (WFP), stopped fixed-wing flights last week. The service had operated for nine years, moving aid workers, medical supplies, and relief items to communities in Borno and Yobe states where road travel is considered too dangerous.
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric confirmed the shutdown on Wednesday, noting that $5.4 million is urgently needed to restart operations for the next six months. “Without funding, the humanitarian response risks being cut off from the very people it is meant to serve,” he said.
Last year, more than 9,000 passengers used the service, and 4,500 aid staff have relied on it already in 2025. The grounding of flights follows warnings from WFP in July that food assistance for 1.3 million people in the region could also be suspended because of budget shortfalls.
Margot van der Velden, WFP’s regional director for West and Central Africa, added that while Nigeria is now the largest financier of relief work in the northeast, international donor contributions remain vital to sustain operations.
The UN cautioned that the suspension could worsen the humanitarian situation in a region already scarred by 16 years of conflict, leaving families at greater risk of hunger, forced migration, and recruitment by extremist groups.
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