It is the main airport serving the Nigerian capital city and was named after Nigeria's first President, Nnamdi Azikiwe (1904–1996).

The airport is approximately 20 km (12 mi) southwest of the city centre, and has an international and a domestic terminal that share its single runway.

[citation needed] In June 2009, Delta Air Lines began a route to New York City via Dakar.

[8][9] It was reported in 2012 that Delta had suspended flights to Abuja due to the high cost of fuel and diminished passenger counts.

On 4 January 2017, Nigeria's Federal Executive Council backed the Ministry of Aviation's decision to close the airport for six weeks to enable repairs on the runway, which was said to be dysfunctional.

[17] The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria says the newly completed terminal building can process up to 15 million passengers annually.

The General Aviation Terminal project will cost N258 million naira and will include a new protocol Lounge and rehabilitation of the fire station at the Airport.