The Senate on Tuesday condemned the rise in domestic airfares and summoned the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, alongside airline operators and sector regulators, demanding urgent explanations over the exploitative surge in ticket prices.

The resolution followed a motion by Senator Buhari Abdulfatai, who warned that the escalating cost of air travel was threatening national mobility and placing unbearable financial pressure on citizens ahead of the festive season.

Lawmakers said available data showed that one-way domestic airfares on key routes, especially to the South-South and South-East regions, had surged by as much as 150 percent in recent weeks.

Flights that previously sold for around N120,000 were now listed at between N300,000 and N600,000 on several routes, including the busy Abuja–Lagos corridor.

“This situation has gone beyond commercial justification. Nigerians are being subjected to unreasonable pricing that makes air travel inaccessible to the average citizen,” Abdulfatai told the chamber.

He added that the development was particularly troubling given the worsening security situation on many highways, forcing more travellers to rely on air transport despite the soaring costs.

Several senators expressed outrage over the increases and accused airlines of taking advantage of peak travel demand.

Senator Adamu Aliero described the development as unacceptable, while Senator Onyekachi Nwebonyi criticised what he termed a 400 percent jump in fares on some routes, saying the absence of a functional national carrier had worsened the pricing crisis.

Nwebonyi urged the aviation ministry to act decisively, warning that the current trend could cripple domestic tourism, business travel and inter-state mobility.

Senator Solomon Adeola also faulted airline operators, noting that the industry had benefited from multiple government concessions, including waivers on spare parts and other critical aviation equipment. He said those advantages should have translated into more affordable fares for passengers.

However, Senator Orji Kalu offered a partial defence of the airlines, citing rising operational costs, foreign exchange pressures and the high cost of aircraft maintenance.

His intervention was met with objections from several lawmakers who insisted that such challenges could not justify the magnitude of the current fare hikes.

Following heated exchanges, the Senate directed the aviation minister, representatives of domestic airlines, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and other relevant agencies to appear before the appropriate committees within days.

The hearing is expected to examine the causes of the fare increases and propose immediate measures to stabilise prices ahead of the holiday rush.

Keyamo, who was sworn in as aviation minister in 2023, has previously acknowledged the financial difficulties facing airline operators, including fuel costs, foreign exchange volatility and maintenance expenses.

However, lawmakers on Tuesday insisted that government must balance industry survival with the protection of passengers.

The Senate’s intervention comes amid growing public anger over the rising cost of transportation across the country, driven by fuel subsidy removal, currency depreciation and inflationary pressures.

Air travel has increasingly become the preferred option for many Nigerians due to persistent insecurity on major highways, including cases of kidnapping and armed robbery.

Industry analysts say the combination of limited aircraft availability, high operating expenses and increased seasonal demand has contributed to the spike in ticket prices.

Some domestic airlines have reduced fleet sizes due to maintenance delays and difficulties in accessing foreign exchange for spare parts, leading to fewer seats and higher prices.