… Lawmakers, passengers Slam Airlines Over ‘Unaffordable’ Tickets
…Operators Blame Taxes, Fuel Costs, Seasonal Deman
Daud Olatunji
There was widespread outrage on Friday as domestic airfares climbed to as high as N500,000 for one-hour flights, triggering angry reactions from lawmakers, travellers and social media users who described the prices as exploitative and far beyond the reach of average Nigerians.
The surge in ticket prices, which coincides with the Christmas travel rush, came under sharp scrutiny at the National Assembly this week, where senators openly lamented what they called an “unacceptable burden” on citizens.
At a Senate plenary, Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi (Ebonyi North) narrated his shock after discovering that a one-way ticket from Abuja to Enugu for December 13 was selling for N500,000 on Air Peace and N460,000 on Ibom Air.
“This is unheard of. I couldn’t believe it when my aide told me the price,” the lawmaker said.
Also speaking, Senator Adamu Aliero disclosed that he would need to spend nearly N700,000 to travel from Abuja to Kebbi, describing the cost as “completely unaffordable,” while Senator Abdulfatai Buhari said fares from Abuja to Lagos now range between N400,000 and N650,000.
According to him, tickets from Abuja to Ilorin were selling for about N450,000, while flights to Enugu hovered around N500,000.
Beyond the National Assembly, angry passengers flooded social media with complaints, accusing airlines of profiteering during the festive season when travel demand peaks.
One passenger, identified as Kokopee, questioned whether airlines were benefiting from Nigeria’s worsening insecurity. “Are these airlines sponsoring banditry and kidnapping to make roads unsafe so they can cash out?” she asked in a viral post.
Another traveller, FS Yusuf, reacting to a N499,998 Air Peace ticket from Lagos to Owerri, described the fare as “pure wickedness.”
“How can a flight of less than one hour cost N500,000?” he queried.
Reacting to the public anger, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, said the Federal Government lacks the power to regulate ticket prices set by private airlines.
However, aviation stakeholders countered the minister’s position, arguing that government agencies significantly influence airfare pricing through heavy taxes, levies and charges imposed on operators.
Industry operators revealed that airlines pay over 50 different charges to agencies such as the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
The spokesman of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, was quoted to have said fares would crash if government slashed the multiple taxes imposed on airlines.
“Airlines face up to 18 different taxes on a single ticket. The more taxes you impose, the higher the airfare Nigerians will pay,” he said.
Defending the current pricing regime, the Chief Commercial Officer of United Nigeria Airlines, Raphael Uchegbu, insisted that airlines were merely responding to operational realities, not exploiting passengers.
He said some routes still sell tickets for between N95,000 and N125,000, stressing that Christmas fares reflect seasonal demand and the cost of operating largely empty return flights.
“During Christmas, you may have a full flight going to the East, but the aircraft comes back empty. The fare covers both legs,” Uchegbu explained.
He also highlighted sharp differences in airport charges, noting that Anambra Airport charges N8,000 per passenger, compared to N2,000 in Enugu and Owerri, while fuel prices range from N800 per litre in Lagos and Abuja to as high as N1,500 per litre in some states.
According to him, high costs have forced airlines to cut flight frequencies and limit operations to certain routes.
Despite the backlash, Uchegbu maintained that airlines had not increased fares beyond last year’s Christmas prices. “What we charged last year is what we are charging this year. There is really no increase,” he said.
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