FRESH concerns are mounting within Nigeria’s aviation sector over the structure of passenger charges, which industry experts have continued to query.

Speaking with The Guardian over the weekend in Lagos, the President of Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Nigeria (AOPAN), Dr Alex Nwuba, said many of the country’s levies lacked a transparent cost foundation and function more like taxes than service-based fees.
He specifically mentioned the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC), Value Added Tax (VAT) on domestic tickets, multiple security and passenger service charges embedded in air tickets.

The aviation expert insisted that the charges were imposed without publicly available cost studies demonstrating the specific aviation services they fund.
According to him, under the policies of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), aviation charges must be directly related to the cost of providing a defined service, adding that the association’s guidelines emphasise transparency, consultation with stakeholders, and cost-relatedness.

According to Nwuba, Nigeria applies numerous levies to a single passenger movement, creating concerns about multiple charging and reduced accountability.
He emphasised that without a clear cost breakdown, it would become difficult to determine whether air travellers within the country were paying strictly for aviation services or subsidising broader fiscal objectives.

The AOPAN President warned against the use of aviation fees as general revenue-raising measures for the government and its agencies, adding that such ambiguity undermined transparency and could conflict with global best practice.

ALSO the absence of transit facilities at any of Nigeria’s airports has been identified by the Chairman of United Nigeria Airlines (UNA), Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, as a major challenge confronting indigenous carriers.
Speaking on Thursday in Lagos at the fifth-year celebration of UNA, Okonkwo lamented that the absence of a transit facility at any of the international airports made it difficult for the airlines to create a hub.

He insisted that without transit facilities, it would be difficult for Nigerian airlines to fly to long hauls.
A 2024 data released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said that only one per cent of international passengers arriving in Nigeria were able to continue their journey to another country due to the absence of transit facilities at the airports.

Okonkwo, however, expressed optimism that the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, would address the situation.