75% passenger traffic rebound triggers call for airfare review

About 75 per cent return to pre-COVID-19 passenger traffic demand has elicited call for downward review of airfares across local and international travel segments.

The demand, made by stakeholders, was aimed at giving consumers better deal and full recovery of the aviation market.

Though foreign airlines have not raised airfares that are quoted in dollars, their local counterparts have raised fares by an average of 66 per cent to cope with a spike in aviation fuel and attendant high cost of operations.

Chairman of the Airlines and Passengers’ Joint Committee of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Bankole Bernard, said the market has had sufficient rebound to warrant return to promotional airfares or have the regulators demand the same from operating carriers.

Bernard yesterday, told The Guardian that aviation fuel in Nigeria is relatively cheaper than in other countries and rarely a good reason for local airlines to retain high airfares in a market adjudged “one of the fastest growing” in the post-COVID-19 era.

He noted that though the larger industry was not yet back to the pre-COVID-19 era and golden age of modern aviation, but “it is moving fast and we are already doing between 75 to 80 per cent demand.”

“Evidence shows that Nigeria is one of the fastest growing markets in terms of growth post-COVID. It means that we quickly adapted to the new normal and we are moving, which is good for us.

“However, the industry deserves more amid the development. Airlines make money either through volume or yield. So, the moment the volume increases, naturally there should be some reductions in fares to encourage more people to fly and airlines make more money. It is when the volume is going down that you apply the principle of yield to stay profitable.

“So, we want the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to look into the fares filed by the airlines. Are they competitive or just taking advantage of the system?” he said.

Bernard, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Finchglow Group, added that foreign carriers have not really spiked airfares but for the weaker naira against the dollar exchange and the FX liquidity crisis.

He added that the Federal Government did well with the review of the COVID-19 mandatory protocol and opening of the new terminal at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) to decongest the entry port and attract new opportunities.

“The government owes it a duty to ensure that Nigerians are not exploited, not only by foreigners but by local operators too. We need it to help our industry to grow. The new terminal will surely decongest the pressure on travellers that have to queue and some even miss their flights in the process. The terminal will make things a lot easier, especially during the coming summer holidays, and further encourage more airlines to come into a destination like Nigeria” Bankole said.

Travel consultant, Sunday Olumegbon, added that the industry is current elitist in terms of cost, which defeats the motive of the air transport sector.

He said: “Aviation is a business of freedom, but high fare simply fences off potential customers. The regulators should as well begin to remind airlines to return promotional tickets to create cheaper cadres of airfares. Two local airlines have already introduced that but it should go across the industry,” Olumegbon said.

Director General of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Willie Walsh, recently affirmed that international sales have continued to pick up despite all constraints, particularly the one associated with the war in Ukraine.

Walsh said: “People want to travel. And when travel restrictions are lifted, they return to the skies. There is still a long way to go to reach a normal state of affairs, but the forecast for the evolution in passenger numbers gives good reason to be optimistic.

“Fortunately, more governments have understood that travel restrictions have little to none long-term impact on the spread of a virus. And the economic and social hardship caused for very limited benefit is simply no longer acceptable in a growing number of markets. As a result, the progressive removal of restrictions is giving a much-needed boost to the prospects for travel,” Walsh said.