Stakeholders under the aegis of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) have faulted the cumulative effect of taxes and surcharges imposed by foreign airlines on tickets sold by travel agencies.
Such excessive taxes, they claimed, reflect on the price paid by passengers.
They said the additional charges could double the advertised airfare for a short-haul flight.
This, they said, has led to the high cost of foreign airlines tickers in Nigeria.
The group at its 40th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital last weekend, decried a situation where airlines taxes are higher than the base fares.
They urged the Federal Government through the Ministry of Aviation to call foreign airlines to order over what they termed sharp practices.
According to them, passengers are shocked by the difference in advertised airfare and the price they ultimately pay for ticket.
The reason for the discrepancy is that the amount advertised is usually the airline’s “base”fare on which many surcharges and taxes are levied at the time of purchase.
NANTA’s Financial Secretary Mrs. Ngozi Ngoka said foreign airlines make available on their website fares, which are much cheaper than those available on the agency booking platforms. She described it as unfair competition, adding that the practice is running a lot of agencies out of business.
“We have documented evidence about this practice from Emirates airlines and KLM,” she said.
She said the group had made its position known to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), stressing that regulation on it has not been helpful.
“Our position is that we want a unit to be set up to look into fare structure of airlines. Fares are padded. A former Director-General of NCAA, Dr. Harold Demuren, was very helpful and seriously fought to stop the fleecing of Nigerians. In other climes, aviation regulators look at fare structures. Taxes are higher than base fares.”
Mrs Ngoka decried the high cost of air ticket for example to London from Lagos or Abuja, hinting that a situation where air fares to London costs between N400, 000 and N450, 000 for economy class from between N150, 000 and N200, 000 cannot be justified, notwithstanding the falling naira against the dollar.
She noted that first class ticket on British carriers and other European airlines has gone up between N1million and N1.5 million to N3 million, describing it as “ludicrous.”
The NANTA Chief deplored the sale of airline tickets by banks, adding that banks have become “jack of all trade” and are gradually and consistently encroaching on all businesses, including specialised areas such as NANTA’s.
Mrs Ngoka said the banks were not licensed to act as airline agents, noting that travel agents undergo rigorous accreditation before they are allowed to sell airline tickets.
“Why are airlines colluding with banks to sell tickets by offering banks commission and offering agents none?, she asked.
The public, she said, had been inundated with adverts by banks making “ridiculous offers on the purchase of air tickets from such banks. This growing trend portrays a dangerous situation whereby the banks have abandoned their core business of providing financial services to the public and delving into a business venture that they are not legally licensed to perform.”
