By all modern standards, free public WiFi should be an essential amenity at any international and domestic airport. In today’s hyperconnected world, travelers expect seamless internet access to keep in touch with loved ones, handle business emails, and navigate foreign cities. Yet, in Nigeria, this expectation remains unmet. Of the country’s 32 domestic and international airports, only two—Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja—offer any form of free WiFi. Even at those hubs, the connections are unreliable at best and non-functional at worst.
Walk into either the Lagos or Abuja airport, open your device, and you might spot network names like “FREE AIRPORT WIFI FAAN/NCC” or “Glo Free WiFi.” But that’s usually where the experience ends. The network might appear strong, but click to connect and you’re met with a portal that never loads or, worse, an error message. So why, in 2025, can’t Nigerian airports get this seemingly simple service right?
Broken connections: The backroom story
The failure of airport WiFi in Nigeria is not due to a lack of intention— you can get quality WiFi in lounges managed by private companies within the airport— but rather a complex mix of technical, bureaucratic, and economic challenges.
Firstly, infrastructure is a major issue. Many airport routers are outdated or too few to handle the volume of travellers who pass through the airports on any given day. Without proper network planning or ongoing maintenance, connections become bottlenecked or break down entirely. Even where signals are strong, backend systems often fail—authentication portals don’t load, or the routers themselves aren’t connected to the internet. Some networks broadcast service set identifiers (SSIDs) simply for optics, but they have no real bandwidth behind them.
The backbone of Nigeria’s internet—terrestrial fibre and microwave links—can be unreliable, especially in non-urban areas. Even in urban areas like Lagos and Abuja, home to Nigeria’s major international airports, inequitable distribution of telecom equipment means that the internet is always fluctuating and unreliable. Combine that with frequent power cuts and rampant fibre cable vandalism, and it’s no surprise that routers often go offline or never reboot properly.
Add to that a chronic lack of accountability. Unlike private ventures with customer-facing service models, public WiFi systems at airports often have no assigned contractor responsible for uptime or quality. When something breaks, it may take weeks—or never—to fix.
Investors’ reluctance
Free WiFi doesn’t come cheap. Laying fibre, installing access points, securing bandwidth, and maintaining uptime costs real money. But for internet service providers (ISPs), the return on that investment is murky. Free WiFi isn’t a direct revenue driver unless it’s bundled with advertising, user analytics, or other monetized services.
“The airport might start initially paying, but their expectation is the service provider will find a way to make money from the service. So, the airport might pay for installation and maybe a few months of bandwidth. This leaves service providers trying to find a way to commercialize,” Ladi Okuneye, CEO of UniCloud, a local cloud infrastructure provider, told .
The most widely considered commercial model for public Wi-Fi is advertising. However, major ad platforms like Google typically won’t enter revenue-sharing agreements with service providers unless the network attracts significant traffic—often tens of thousands of users. In 2024, Nigerian airports recorded a total passenger traffic of approximately 15.68 million, comprising around 11 million domestic travelers and 4 million international travelers. Building a consistent internet user base out of travellers can take months or even years, during which the service provider must cover the full cost of bandwidth and network maintenance without generating revenue. To manage these ongoing expenses, providers may cut corners on operational costs, which often leads to a decline in service quality.
Poor quality WiFi can damage a brand’s image if passengers associate it with failure. Additionally, Nigeria’s regulatory landscape is notoriously complex. ISPs may need approval from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and even the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA)—each with its own processes and delays. This red tape deters all but the most persistent operators.
Then, there’s the challenge of data monetisation. Globally, free WiFi models often rely on user analytics and targeted advertising. But in Nigeria, data privacy regulations are still evolving, and the lack of clear enforcement makes ISPs hesitant to invest heavily in user-tracking systems that might later be deemed non-compliant.
“There is also the issue of maintenance after the initial infrastructure is provided. Someone needs to be responsible and bear the cost,” Rotimi Akapo, Partner and Head of Telecommunications, Media, and Technology (TMT) practice group at Advocaat Law Practice, told .
Who’s actually in charge?
Confusion persists over which government agency is truly responsible for providing internet services at Nigerian airports. While the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) owns and operates the majority of airports in the country, its core mandate is focused on airport operations rather than digital infrastructure. According to a FAAN official who requested anonymity, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) is technically responsible for managing internet infrastructure at airports. In reality, both agencies often rely on third-party Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to install and maintain WiFi networks.
As part of the 2025 national budget, the Nigerian government has proposed allocating ₦1.5 billion to improve internet connectivity at five international airports across the country. In December 2024, NAMA’s Managing Director, Umar Ahmed Farouk, announced the restoration of WiFi service at Lagos’s Murtala Muhammed International Airport. He urged travelers to connect to the SSID “Free Airport WiFi NAMA, NCC” for complimentary internet access. However, passenger experiences have been disappointing. Many users report that the network rarely connects, and when it does, the internet is often unusable. NAMA officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
“NAMA is responsible for managing airspace communications—not passenger-facing WiFi,” said Sindy Forster, Principal Managing Partner at Avaero Capital Partners, an aviation consultancy. “The NCC (Nigerian Communications Commission), which regulates telecommunications, may be involved in public WiFi initiatives, but it’s typically private ISPs like Glo, Smile, or Spectranet who are contracted to deploy and maintain these networks.”
Unfortunately, these partnerships don’t always come with enforceable service-level agreements (SLAs). Without performance benchmarks, ISPs aren’t incentivized to maintain quality. And FAAN, lacking internal digital expertise, often doesn’t prioritize connectivity projects.
Renovation without connection
Ironically, many Nigerian airports have seen recent renovations—new terminals, upgraded lounges, and expanded runways—but the lack of functioning WiFi remains a glaring omission. Lagos and Abuja airports, for instance, have seen substantial refurbishments funded through local and international partnerships. Modernized check-in counters, improved security screening areas, and better-designed passenger lounges suggest progress. Yet, despite these visible upgrades, the digital infrastructure has lagged.
This disjointed modernization sends a mixed message to travelers. A sleek terminal means little when a basic Google search or WhatsApp message can’t be sent without a personal data plan.
What’s at stake?
The absence of functional WiFi does more than just inconvenience passengers—it hampers Nigeria’s image and economic potential.
Reliable airport WiFi can enhance tourism by improving first impressions for international visitors, according to Forster. It promotes digital inclusion by offering internet access to Nigerians who may not have active data plans. Entrepreneurs and business travelers benefit from smoother travel logistics, while better connectivity improves communication during delays or emergencies.
Moreover, offering public WiFi signals a country’s commitment to modernization. Countries across Africa—like Morocco, South Africa, Rwanda, and Ghana—have increasingly invested in airport internet access as part of broader digital transformation agendas. Nigeria, Africa’s fourth-largest economy and most populous country, risks falling behind if it doesn’t follow suit.
What can be done?
To move forward, Nigeria must rethink its approach.
First, FAAN must acknowledge that internet access is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. That means either building internal digital capacity or partnering with experienced ISPs under enforceable SLAs.
“WiFi works in the lounges; it means that connectivity isn’t an issue. It means that they are getting paid. Incentives are a return on investment. If FAAN is ready to pay, I’m sure the WiFi would work,” Wole Abu, managing director of Equinix West Africa, operators of the MainOne submarine fibre cable, said.
To attract private sector investment, the government must offer better incentives: advertising rights, data reselling frameworks, tax holidays on telecom equipment, or even bundling duty-free retail exposure with connectivity projects. Long-term public-private partnerships (PPPs) with shared risk and reward can help bridge the infrastructure and service quality gap.
Given ad platforms’ reluctance to share revenue, Forster suggests that ISPs display their ads on captive portals—similar to the bright, neon-lit boards commonly seen inside airports.
“Duty-free space access and bundling services with retail exposure,” she said.
Above all, clarity is essential. Today, only a handful of airports even advertise free WiFi, and fewer still offer functional services. For travelers—especially international ones—that uncertainty creates stress and confusion. Transparent communication about available services, their quality, and how to access them can go a long way in improving the user experience.
Until these issues are addressed, free WiFi at Nigerian airports will remain more myth than reality—seen on screen but never truly connected.
