The United Nations has suspended a vital air service in northeast Nigeria, citing severe funding shortages that now threaten to deepen the country’s long-running humanitarian crisis.
The U.N. Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), managed by the World Food Programme (WFP), officially halted its fixed-wing operations last week after nearly a decade of service.
The program has been a lifeline for humanitarian workers, medical staff, and critical cargo, especially in conflict-ravaged Borno and Yobe states where road access remains extremely dangerous due to insurgency.
U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric confirmed the suspension in New York on Wednesday, warning that the closure could cut off aid to millions already grappling with hunger, displacement, and violence.
“Without this funding, the humanitarian response in northeast Nigeria risks being cut off from the very people it is meant to serve,” he said.
According to the U.N., the service requires at least $5.4 million to remain operational for the next six months.
In 2024 alone, UNHAS carried over 9,000 passengers, while in the first half of 2025, more than 4,500 humanitarian workers relied on it to access remote communities.
Margot van der Velden, WFP’s regional director for West and Central Africa, stressed that urgent financial backing is needed to keep food and nutrition assistance flowing.
She explained that the shortfall comes at a time when multiple global crises, from Gaza to Sudan and Ukraine, are stretching donor commitments.
The suspension comes only weeks after the WFP warned it might cut off emergency food aid for 1.3 million people in northeastern Nigeria due to dwindling resources.
Aid workers fear the halt of air services could worsen hunger levels, force families into unsafe migration routes, and expose vulnerable populations to extremist exploitation.
Despite Nigeria’s government emerging as the single largest contributor to relief efforts in the northeast, the U.N. insists international funding remains indispensable.
The federal government has invested heavily in the response, but the scale of the crisis requires sustained global support.
“The consequences could be devastating,” Dujarric warned. “Without safe air links, aid workers lose access to remote conflict-affected communities, leaving millions at risk.”
Humanitarian analysts say the suspension is a stark reminder of how fragile aid operations have become in the face of shrinking donor budgets.
With 16 years of armed conflict still weighing heavily on the region, cutting off an essential air bridge may further isolate communities at a time they can least afford it.
The U.N. has appealed for immediate donor support, stressing that every delay puts more lives at risk in one of Africa’s most protracted humanitarian emergencies.
