- Passengers weigh options; agents blame ‘Detty December’ factor
- FCCPC expands scope of probe into exploitative air fares
Christmas travel plans are changing in many homes as air fares continue to skyrocket beyond the capacity of hundreds of thousands of families.
Interventions by federal lawmakers and some government agencies to bring about some relief have been unsuccessful so far.
Only yesterday the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) announced that it was expanding the scope of existing investigation into pricing templates behind rates charged for tickets by some airlines on some domestic routes with a view to establishing possible violations of the provisions of the law.
While the current security challenge in parts of the country, the bad state of some highways, multiple security checkpoints, banditry and other encumbrances, may have rendered the road option largely unattractive for some, others are prepared to go by air whatever the cost , an investigation by The Nation has shown.
Although the astronomical increase in airfares cuts across routes, flights from Lagos and Abuja to the Southeast cities of Enugu, Owerri, Onitsha and Abakaliki as well as the South South cities of Benin, Asaba, Port Harcourt, Calabar and Uyo are attracting higher fares.
And this is despite the entry of new carriers like Pioneer Air, Enugu Air/Xejet Airlines, Binani Airlines, UMZA Airlines into the market.
One way tickets for some of the flights range between N300,000 and N600,000 as against the average of N150,000 or N250,000.
In effect, a family of five travelling from Lagos to Enugu will have to cough out N1.5m at an average cost of N300,000 per head.
Flight booking on the portal of one of the domestic airlines yesterday for a flight from Lagos to Asaba, the Delta State capital for today showed that there were no more seat available.
The only window to connect Asaba from Lagos on the said airline is only available on Tuesday, December 16, 2025 for a fare of N432, 700.
It is the same story for Lagos to Enugu flights for this weekend.
But seats are available for the Monday , December 15, 2025 flight at a cost of N430,700.
Lagos to Port Harcourt on the same date offers a fare structure of N430,700.
As at yesterday, bus fares from the Oshodi Transport Interchange in Lagos to the Southeast were less than N30,000 for trips proposed for this weekend.
Some passengers who trooped to the local terminal in Ikeja yesterday even considered engaging limousine cabs stations at the airport under fractional charter arrangements to ferry them to their destinations.
Airline officials, travel agents and destination management companies told our correspondent that demand for seats is largely dictated by market forces..
Group Managing Director of FinchGlow Holdings, Mr Bankole Bernard told The Nation that hope of a dip in airfares for now is unrealistic as passengers keep surging to airports for their end of year travels.
Bernard said business projections for ‘Detty December’ , have also occasioned distortions in pricing , not just for airfares, but have also had a debilitating effect on e- hailing rides, hotel booking, short letting facilities, prices for events, and other products and services associated with end of year celebrations.
Bernard,a former president of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) said high airfares stem from supply/demand imbalance, but are worsened by excessive government taxes, levies, and high operating costs (dollar-denominated expenses like fuel/lease).
All these, he said, are forcing airlines to prioritise “yield over volume,” meaning fewer seats sold at much higher prices to cover costs, not passenger comfort.
He asked government to cut charges and manage airports as businesses for lower fares.
While describing the fares as about the highest in recent years, he said multiple taxes and levies factored into passengers’ tickets by aviation agencies add up to the prohibitive charge regime.
He said ticket prices would remain steep “as long as demand keeps outrunning supply.”
According to him, the market would only stabilize when more routes and frequencies open up.
“With a ₦1,000 ticket, only ₦550 goes to the airline. The rest, almost half, is swallowed by charges from agencies. These are the real pressures driving fares,” he said.
Attempts by the Federal Government to engage airlines on the matter have not yielded the expected outcomes.
The House of Representatives has raised concerns about the skyrocketing cost of domestic air travel.
During Thursday’s plenary, the lower legislative chamber asked the federal government to cut aviation taxes by 50 percent to make flights more affordable for Nigerians during the yuletide.
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The House’s attention was drawn to what its members described as “exorbitant” airfares that have placed a heavy burden on families hoping to reunite during the festive period.
Members said Christmas, traditionally a season of joy and reconnection, now “looms under the weight of economic challenges” that have made travel increasingly prohibitive.
“The unprecedented rise in air travel costs is not a mere anomaly in the market. It poses a direct threat to the traditions that unite our society during this cherished festive season, they said.
Aviation and Aerospace Development Minister Festus Keyamo blamed the high airfares on aircraft scarcity and insufficient maintenance infrastructure.
Keyamo said the federal government has no power to regulate or cap airline ticket prices.
He highlighted that the industry has been fully deregulated since the Babangida era, giving private airlines the freedom to set their own prices without government intervention.
“The industry has long been deregulated. The moment the federal government under Babangida said private airlines could come in and fly, they deregulated in terms of pricing and all, just like a free market.
“And so the government has absolutely no powers to fix prices for private enterprise, including the aviation industry,” Keyamo said.
President of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Nigeria, Dr. Alex Nwuba, described the recent surge in domestic ticket prices as a recurring seasonal pattern.
He said fares typically rise sharply every December because many travellers book late, pushing prices into the highest fare brackets.
His words:“It’s not new. Every year, it’s the same. Prices go up at Christmas time. The forces of economics at play. It is a demand-driven price increase, and it is compensation for low fares during the low season.”
He explained that airline tickets are sold in a “bucket” system, where early buyers benefit from lower fares while prices rise as flights fill up.
With only about 0.02 percent of the population flying, he noted that the industry cannot achieve economies of scale, unlike Europe and the United States, where annual flight volumes exceed population sizes.
Additional factors, including limited aircraft capacity, a weakened naira over time, fuel costs approximately 17 percent above global rates, and multiple aviation charges, further drive up operating expenses for airlines, he noted.
Nwuba called for a comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s aviation system, including reforms to taxation and operational charges, to make flying more accessible and reduce steep fare spikes during peak periods.
FCCPC expands investigations
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) in a statement yesterday said it was expanding the scope of existing investigation into pricing templates behind rates charged for tickets by some airlines on some domestic routes with a view to establishing possible violations of the provisions of the law.
The ongoing investigation targets operators on the identified routes.
Earlier in the year, a major airline, Air Peace, instituted a court action seeking to restrain the Commission from examining its pricing mechanisms, following the commencement of an investigation into its pricing model after widespread complaints from members of the public.
However, the FCCPC said the ongoing inquiry is without prejudice to the case instituted against it by Air Peace.
“For the avoidance of doubt, we are not a price control board. But the FCCPA 2018 empowers us to check the exploitation of consumers,” FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, Mr Tunji Bello, said.
He added: “When we receive petitions or where we find cogent evidence, we will not stand by and watch Nigerian consumers being exploited under any guise.”
The EVC/CEO emphasised that the Commission would not hesitate to act where evidence shows that consumer welfare or market competitiveness is being undermined.
Bus/car fares may rise too
Although road transport fares from Lagos to the Southeast and South South remained relatively stable yesterday,operators said the fares would go up as the festivity period draws nearer.
As at yesterday,bus fares from the Oshodi Transport Interchange in Lagos to the Southeast were less than N30,000 for trips proposed for this weekend.
An operator said by Thursday,December 18,the story would begin to change.
Transport fares within and outside Abia State have also remained relatively stable with
fare to and from Umuahia, the state capital and Aba, the commercial nerve of the state costing ₦1000-₦1,500.
Fare from Aba and Umuahia to Lagos and other parts of the country ranges between ₦30,000 and ₦50,000 or more, depending on the distance.
