Until the 80s, this is how arrivals and departures of aircraft were announced (photos)

A lot of things have changed in Nigeria. One of such is how arrivals and departures of aircraft at Kano Airport were announced.

Until the 1980s, arrivals and departures of aircraft at Kano airport were heralded by a trumpeter who sat on a camel.


Until the 80s, a trumpeter who sat on a camel used to herald the arrivals departures of aircrafts at Kano Airport
Then, there used to be Nigeria Airways but today it is dead and gone, nowhere to be found.

The story of Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport cannot be told without mentioning its fame in the early days when it began operations.

It is one of the country’s oldest international airports, having began operations in 1936.

Located in the ancient city of Kano in the northern part of the country, the airport was named after a prominent Kano-born Nigerian statesman, Mallam Aminu Kano.

Interestingly, this airport used to be the second-most active airport in Nigeria until things began to change with the economic downturn of the 1980s and 1990s.


Until the mid-1990s, the Kano airport was the second most active airdrome in Nigeria outside the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos

Both local and international airlines operated scheduled flight from there boosting the economic activities and revenue of Kano. Kabo Air, Nigeria Airways, Okada Air and other domestic carriers operated at least three daily flights into Kano. Also, international airlines like British Caledonian, KLM, Iberia and Saudia favoured the airport.


The airport used to an important fuel stop for airliners flying long-haul services between Europe and Africa. With time, newer aircraft did not need fuel stops.

With the economic downturn of the 1980s and 1990s came the demise of the Kano economy and many international airlines stopped serving the airport