The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said airlines worldwide paid about $60.4 billion in taxes and charges to governments in 2024.

IATA said that these charges and taxes were added to airline fares and were payable by air passengers in the previous year.

IATA said: “Air transport passengers paid $60.4bn in ticket taxes and charges in 2024. These taxes, added to airline fares, are collected by carriers and passed on to governments.”

Also, in recent weeks, return tickets on flights departing from Lagos, Abuja, and other major routes to the South-south and South-east have increased astronomically.

Routes like Asaba, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Benin, Imo, Anambra, Ebonyi and Akwa Ibom are currently priced high by various domestic carriers operating to the airports.

For instance, checks on the Air Peace flight to Asaba Airport from Lagos for December travel showed airfares of N541,000.

Airfares from Lagos to Asaba on Air Peace are N432,700, while the return to Lagos is N108,100.

Also, further checks on the airline’s website revealed that there is no flight out of Lagos to Enugu Airport on December 22, while flight from Enugu to Lagos’ airfare is priced at N102,100.

For United Nigeria Airlines (UNA), a one-way ticket for the same December on the Lagos-Asaba route is set at N400,000.05, while a return flight from Asaba to Lagos for December 29 is fixed at N135,500.

On the same UNA, Lagos-Benin is fixed at N400,000.05, while Benin-Lagos for December 29 is fixed at N200,000. Also, the same route is priced at N335,500 for January 1, 2006, back to Lagos.

Apart from the two airlines, other indigenous carriers flying on the South-South and South-East routes have also raised their airfares, making the routes the most expensive for travellers during this yuletide season.

In his response to The Guardian, the Director, Public Affairs and Economic Regulations, NCAA, Michael Achimugu, said that no regulatory authority, including the NCAA, regulates airfares anywhere in the world.

Achimugu explained that airfares are determined by market forces, seasons and operational costs of airlines.

According to him, yuletide spikes are typical across sectors, noting that bus transportation to the Southeast during this season also increases exponentially.

The Guardian reports that tickets on South-East and South-South routes have increased to between N500,000 to N600,000 in the economy class seats as the festive season approaches.

He added: “For Detty December, owners of apartments have raised their rent by over 400 per cent above the regular rates. Food costs increase during the season, too. Is any of this fair? I would say no.

“But we cannot regulate airfares. All of the people complaining about these fares are also doing the same thing in their businesses. We at the CAA are not exempt from the harshness of the fares. So, if it were possible to force it down, we would do so. But we cannot.”

He emphasised that only competition, lower taxes and more affordable fuel, among others, could force down the cost of air travel, stressing that the Minister of Aviation and Aerodynamics, Festus Keyamo, was doing all within his power to address the situation from the government side.

“Let the operators also think about what they can do for their customers. Maybe, when people begin to boycott some airlines, they would be forced to adjust,” he added.

Achimugu, however, empathised with the travelling public over high airfares, but regretted that the NCAA could not force airlines to lower their fares.

Also, a terse message to The Guardian from the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, said that the ministry was speaking with airlines to work out how to bring down current high fares during this yuletide season.

Keyamo also said the government was encouraging competition in the airline subsector to bring down high airfares.

He said, “We are speaking with the airlines to find out what their issues are, but this is a deregulated industry, so we cannot fix prices. What we are trying to do is to encourage competition to force down prices.”

But the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of United Nigeria Airlines (UNA), Mazi Osita Okomkwo, debunked the claim of indiscriminately high airfares against Southeast and Southeastern travellers.

He insisted that airline ticketing is based on a tiered system known as fare classes, and that one-way traffic on the route within the period is considered.

The COO explained that for Southeast-bound flights, traffic within this period was always overwhelmingly one-directional in December – Lagos/Abuja to Enugu, Anambra, Owerri, Asaba, and reverses in January.

He expressed that this imbalance compelled airlines to ferry near-empty aircraft back, either to Lagos in December or to the Southeast in January.

Also, Mr. Olumide Ohunayo, the General Secretary, Aviation Round Table (ART), said that the fares are not static.
Ohunayo also explained that the current season may be responsible for the high fares, warning that it may reach N400,000 for a return ticket in economy class on some routes.

But, he assured that the airfares would drop by mid-January next year.

Like Sanusi, Ohunayo explained that the recent stringent measures put in place by NCAA on wet-leased equipment may create more bottlenecks for the travelling public as capacity reduces.

He said, “It depends on when you want to travel. On that same flight where you had N300,000 return ticket, someone else might have N100,000 to N150,000 and that is the rule of the game. Also, we are in the festive season, and because of the problems Nigerian travellers are having at the Lagos international airport, we now have so many people coming into the country through Abuja for instance.

“Such travellers would still be travelling down to Lagos and any other airports within the country for their end-of-the-year activities. Before now, the problem has always been between Lagos and some southern parts of the country, but for several reasons, the distribution has changed.

“Also, now that we have put in more stringent measures on the use of wet-leased aircraft for the operators, we have taken capacity away. The airfares will go up more at this period and a return ticket may rise as high as N400,000.”

He, however, dismissed the notion that some airlines may price themselves out of the market due to current charges, maintaining that demand dictates the price.

To address the challenges, he called for change in the regulation that would support competition and boost capacity.
He also observed that the current situation may compel some of the air travellers to jettison air travel for other modes of transport, especially road.

“However, some passengers will still fly mandatorily because of the security situation in the country. We should try as much as possible to ensure that in all we do, we have the balance so that when the chips are down, those passengers can still come back to us,” he said.

Also, a stakeholder said the recent guidelines issued by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on wet-leased aircraft may further lead to higher airfares, as capacity would be reduced on the local scene.

In recent weeks, return tickets on flights departing from Lagos, Abuja, and some other routes—particularly on monopolised routes—have increased to between N300,000 and N350,000 for economy class tickets, while business class tickets now range from N400,000 to N500,000 for the same return trips.

Also, some routes like Abuja, Asaba, Kaduna, Kano, Uyo, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Uyo and Calabar oscillate between N220,000 and N280,000 and more for a return ticket, depending on the time of booking for economy class tickets.

The high fares in the local market, however, have drawn condemnation from the flying public and some aviation experts, who declared that the airlines are exploiting the travelling public.

Speaking to Daily Independent, Capt. Ado Sanusi, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Aero Contractors, said the airfares were exploitative.

According to Sanusi, some airfares on select routes are exploitative, mentioning the South-East and South-South routes as examples of routes where airlines are exploiting the travelling public.

In a bid to address the challenges, Sanusi proposed increased capacity and canvassed for additional airlines to join the existing operators.

But he observed that the new regulation by the NCAA, which limited start-up airlines to a minimum of six aircraft, may further compound the present challenge and allow for more exploitation by the existing carriers as the yuletide draws nearer.

He said, “I believe that there are some prices that are exploitative. I believe so, especially on the monopoly routes. The Eastern routes are somehow monopolised and come with exploitative prices.

“It’s the capacity. If we have more airlines coming into the country and the NCAA allows more airlines to fly, then it will bring the price down. The more airlines we have flying, the more competitive it becomes and the more the prices will go down, but inasmuch as we make regulations that are so hostile to start-up airlines, then the prices will always go up.”

Besides, Sanusi attributed foreign exchange challenges, the high price of aviation fuel, and others as some of the factors responsible for the high airfares, but warned against airlines pricing themselves out of the market.

He explained that Aero Contractors, unlike some airlines, deliberately decided not to charge exorbitant airfares on the routes it operates into and to ensure comfort for the travelling public.

“We reflect what is in the economy of the country. We don’t intend to use the festive season to exploit our passengers.

“What we intend to do, on the other hand, is to make it so affordable so that loved ones can meet each other for Christmas and New Year,” he said.

Also, Mr. Olumide Ohunayo, the General Secretary, Aviation Round Table (ART), said that the fares are not static.
Ohunayo also explained that the current season may be responsible for the high fares, warning that it may reach as high as N400,000 for a return ticket in economy class on some routes.

But, he assured that the airfares would drop by mid-January next year.

Like Sanusi, Ohunayo explained that the recent stringent measures put in place by NCAA on wet-leased equipment may create more bottlenecks for the travelling public as capacity reduces.

He said, “It depends on when you want to travel. On that same flight where you had N300,000 return ticket, someone else might be N100,000 to N150,000 and that is the rule of the game. Also, we are in the festive season and because of the problems Nigerian travellers are having at the Lagos international airport, we now have so many people coming into the country through Abuja, for instance.

“Such travellers would still be travelling down to Lagos and any other airports within the country for their end-of-the-year activities. Before now, the problem has always been between Lagos and some southern parts of the country, but for several reasons, the distribution has changed.

“Also, now that we have put in more stringent measures on the use of wet-leased aircraft for the operators, we have taken capacity away. The airfares will go up more at this period, and a return ticket may rise as high as N400,000.”
He, however, dismissed the notion that some airlines may price themselves out of the market due to current charges, maintaining that demand dictates the price.

To address the challenges, he called for change in the regulation that would support competition and boost capacity.
He also observed that the current situation may compel some of the air travellers to jettison air travel for other modes of transport, especially road.

“However, some passengers will still fly mandatorily because of the security situation in the country. We should try as much as possible that in all we do we have the balance so that when the chips are down those passengers can still come back to us,” he said.

Also, Mr. Yinka Folami, the Vice President of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), stated that travel agencies are negatively affected by the current air charges.

Folami elaborated that the pricing is a result of the country’s economic flux, emphasising that the economy needs stability at present.

He noted that the unstable foreign exchange rate and its accessibility to the domestic market were contributing factors and urged the Federal Government and its agencies to intervene to prevent further deterioration of the economy.

He chose not to be definitive about the alleged exploitative airfares by airlines but suggested that the charges might be beyond the economic means of some Nigerians.

He said: “These are not the normal terms, and I believe that all players are trading cautiously until the whole dynamics settle. I do not want to take a position that they are being deliberately exploitative.

“Even though the fares are exploitative to the Nigerian travellers, I will not want to jump to the conclusion that the intention is to be exploitative. However, I acknowledge the fact that the fares are exploitative to the Nigerian market and a lot of things can be done to normalise the fares.

“We should understand that domestic flights are also affected by the foreign exchange variables, and we are all aware that the market is not settled now. We need some time to fully understand the direction of that market. That will enable better planning.

“I will also say that it is necessary for our regulatory agencies to ask questions from the operators on why the fares are that high. We shouldn’t just leave it. We need to appraise why they are taking such a position.

So, there must be a balance; a balance of where they are going to and balances that the government should take.”