The UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) has shut down its fixed-wing operations in Nigeria due to a lack of funding, ending a service that has supported humanitarian work in the country for nearly a decade.
UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric confirmed the development during a press briefing at the UN Headquarters in New York, noting that the service, operated by the World Food Programme (WFP), ceased operations last week.
“For nine years, UNHAS flights have carried humanitarian workers, medical supplies, and critical cargo to hard-to-reach areas in Borno and Yobe states, at the heart of the crisis,” Dujarric said. “In a country plagued by conflict for 16 years, road transport is extremely dangerous, making air services indispensable.”
The WFP has already warned that it may be forced to suspend emergency food and nutrition aid for 1.3 million people in northeast Nigeria due to severe funding gaps.
Margot van der Velden, WFP’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa, described the situation as dire, stressing that the organisation urgently needs $130 million to sustain emergency food and nutrition support for six months.
“With resources exhausted, our teams may have to tell communities that assistance is ending—not because the need is gone, but because the funding isn’t there,” Velden said. She warned that millions could face worsening hunger, forced migration, or exploitation by extremist groups if aid is cut.
Despite the crisis, Velden commended the Nigerian government for being the largest financier of the emergency response in the northeast.
In 2024, UNHAS transported more than 9,000 passengers, while over 4,500 humanitarian workers have already relied on the service this year to access conflict-affected areas.
According to Dujarric, the service requires $5.4 million to remain operational for the next six months. “Without this support, the humanitarian response risks being cut off from the very people it is meant to serve,” he said.