Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace development, says Nigeria will receive its first set of dry lease aircraft on October 6.

Keyamo spoke on Wednesday at the ground-breaking ceremony for Air Peace’s maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility in Lagos.

Dry lease is an arrangement in which an aeroplane is rented without a flight crew.

The hiring entity (the lessee) assumes operational obligations, such as crew members and upkeep.

Tunde Moshood, the minister’s special assistant on media and communications, stated that the development will improve the nation’s aviation sector.

“The minister also disclosed that the first set of dry-lease aircraft under new government-backed arrangements will arrive in Nigeria by October 6, 2025, a step that will further reduce capital flight and strengthen the industry,” Moshood said.

On August 4, Keyamo stated that the federal government will announce a dry lease aircraft contract, the first in nearly two decades.

He claimed dry lease agreements are uncommon in Nigeria due to international lessors’ worries about safety and asset recovery.

The minister, however, stated that recent improvements have begun to rebuild trust in the system.

In September 2024, Nigeria signed the Cape Town Convention (CTC) practice direction, allowing domestic airlines to access aircraft on dry lease.