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•1hr ticket soars to N142,000
By Chinelo Obogo
07064781119
[email protected]
In reaction to scathing economic realities, Nigerian airlines have again increased the cost of flight tickets on domestic routes.
The move, they noted, was completely inevitable because anything short of that means they will be forced to vacate the skies. This comes on the heels of the efforts by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to crash the high cost of international and domestic flight tickets.
According to the latest report released by the National Bureau of Statistics, in air travel, the average fare paid by passengers for specified routes single journey was N89,975.68 in January 2024, showing an increase of 5 per cent while compared to December 2023. On a year-on-year basis, the fare rose by 20.53 per cent from N74,648.65 in January 2023.
A search by Daily Sun on the websites of local airlines shows that the average cost of economy tickets to most destinations at the moment is N140,000 from the average cost of N89,000 paid for an economy ticket in January. On Air Peace’s website, an economy ticket to Lagos from Abuja on March 14, 15 and 16th cost N143,000 for all the time slots, while Abuja to Asaba for the same date is also N143,000. An economy ticket from Calabar to Lagos, Lagos to Benin and Lagos to Anambra for the same dates also cost N143,000. The same cost applies to passengers who want to fly with ValueJet from Lagos to Abuja.
For United Nigeria Airline, an economy ticket from Abuja to Anambra, Lagos to Kano, Lagos to Sokoto, Lagos to Enugu and Lagos to Bayelsa from March 14th to 18th cost N142,500 irrespective of the time slot. While on Ibom Air, passengers travelling from Lagos to Uyo, Lagos to Calabar and Lagos to Enugu from March 15th will pay N150,000 for economy tickets, while those who wish to fly from Lagos to Abuja on Aero Contractors for March 15th, would pay N103, 700, while Lagos to Kano is N114, 250.
Passengers who want to fly with Green Africa, which is touted as a low budget airline will pay N118,000 for an economy ticket from Lagos to Abuja, while those who want to fly with Arik Air from Lagos to Sokoto will pay N244,000 for economy ticket and from Lagos to Jos, N142,500. At the moment, NG Eagle which began operations last year is the lowest in terms of cost. The cheapest ticket on its website starts from N80, 000, which is for flights from Lagos to Abuja, while flights from Abuja to Sokoto cost N90,000.
On February 12th, the Acting Director General of the regulatory agency, Capt. Chris Najomo, said a committee has been set up to address the issue of high cost of airfares with a view to bringing the prices down and that the agency has met with airlines, other agencies and stakeholders and would make sure that the issue is addressed.
But last week, the Chief Operating Officer of United Nigeria Airline, Osita Okonkwo, said the minimum cost of economy tickets should be N150,000 as any amount less than that would mean that no airline would be able to break even. He said the NCAA controls whatever the airlines do and that if given the oppourtunity, the average cost of an economy ticket should be between N150,000 and N200,000.
He said: “Everyone is increasing service costs except the airlines. Handling companies have announced an outrageous increase in their charges. All the airport owners have increased their rates except FAAN. Asaba airport has increased its Passenger Service Charge (PSC) to N8,000, Anambra has also increased theirs, MM2 is at N7,000 and the NCAA is still collecting five percent charges.
“So, if they are talking about reducing air fares, they should also reduce theirs because it is all additional cost to the passenger. We are buying aviation fuel at a minimum of N1,300, forex is N1,700, so, if we are leasing, how do we pay for the aircraft and spare parts? The truth is that the minimum cost of airfare should be $100 because I don’t see how you can fly for less than N150,000 and you make it.
