Travellers lament as Air Peace, United Nigeria, Ibom Air raise base fares above N200,000

Travellers are lamenting after major domestic carriers operating in Nigeria, including Air Peace, Ibom Air, and United Nigeria Airlines, adjusted their minimum base fares above the N200,000 threshold.

The sharp upward review follows a surge in aviation fuel (Jet A1) prices, which continue to hover between N1,900 and N2,000 per litre despite localised refinery interventions.

The new pricing structure applies to one-way economy class tickets across high-traffic domestic corridors, hitting business and leisure travellers on routes connecting Lagos, Abuja, Enugu, Owerri, Uyo, and Kano.

BusinessDay’s findings reveal a steep climb compared to mid-January averages. For instance, a one-way economy ticket from Lagos to Owerri, which cost an average of N150,000 four months ago, has risen to N202,000 on Air Peace and N208,000 on United Nigeria Airlines.

A similar pattern is playing out on the Lagos–Port Harcourt route. Fares that previously ranged from N120,000 to N150,000 in mid-January have spiked to N201,900 on Air Peace and N208,300 on United Nigeria Airlines, even as legacy operators Aero Contractors and Arik Air temporarily held their baselines lower at N144,325 and N146,357 respectively.

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On the key Lagos–Abuja corridor, tickets have similarly hit N201,900 on Air Peace and N208,145 on United Nigeria Airlines.

However, pricing on the nation’s busiest route remains relatively stable for competitors like Arik Air (N125,289), Rano Air (N128,145), and Aero Contractors (N128,359).

A one-way economy class ticket for Lagos to Asaba on Air Peace currently costs N201,000, against an average of N135,0000 in mid-January.

Lagos to Enugu is also seeing a spike in fares from an average of N140,000 to N208, 145 on United Nigeria, N221,822 on Air Peace and  N340,000 on Ibom Air.

An economy class ticket from Lagos to Kano has increased from an average of N140,000 to N201,918 on Air Peace. Aero retained its fare at N128,400 and Reno at N148,145.

“Airfares have become out of reach for the ordinary Nigerians. Travelling within Nigeria by air with your family is almost impossible for the average Nigerian. The direct effect of this is that people will have to reduce business travels and even essential travels because they can simply not afford it,” Chima Mmadu, a frequent traveller, told BusinessDay.

Peter Adebayo, another frequent traveller, lamented how he spent almost N500,000 for a business trip from Owerri to Lagos and back.

“I had intentionally moved my trip to May because I expected fares to be low since it is not a festive period, but I was amazed when the travel agent told me I had to pay N460,000. This is so exorbitant, especially as this is not even the Christmas season. I don’t think many Nigerians can afford this fare,” Adebayo said.

He called on the government to address the aviation fuel price so that fares can come down.

“A N200,000 base fare is totally unacceptable, especially with the insecurity in Nigeria. Everyone is afraid to travel by road now because of insecurity. I was happy when the government said it gave a 30 percent debt discount for domestic airlines, only to see that fares are not reflective of this discount,” Susan Okon told BusinessDay.

Okon said if fares continue to rise, no one would fly except the very rich, who, according to her, are not up to 30 percent of the flying population.

In the last two months, the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) have seen a 266.7 percent surge in Jet A1 prices, climbing from N900 to N3,300 per litre.

BusinessDay’s checks show that despite the recent reduction in the price of aviation fuel by Dangote refinery, aviation fuel still sells between N1900 and N2000.

The airline operators had threatened to shut down operations over surging aviation fuel prices, but were stopped by the intervention of the federal government.

President Bola Tinubu had approved a 30 percent debt reduction on outstanding statutory fees and charges owed by domestic airlines to federal aviation agencies. Announced in April, the relief is aimed at cushioning the financial impact of the astronomical rise in aviation fuel (Jet-A1) costs and preventing threatened nationwide flight suspensions.

However, stakeholders had said this intervention was not sustainable and would not cushion the effect of the current increase in fuel prices.

BusinessDay’s findings show that aviation fuel currently takes about 45 percent of operating cost; labour, 17 percent; aircraft rent and ownership, 8.5 percent; non-aircraft rents and ownership, 7 percent; professional services, 4.5 percent; landing fees, 2 percent; food and beverage, 1.5 percent; maintenance materials, 13 percent, and transport related fees, 1.5 percent.

The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has insisted that while the recent 30 percent debt discount for domestic airlines is a welcome lifeline, it is merely a “short-term respite” for an industry struggling with several costs impacting business survival.

Muda Yusuf, CPPE Chief Executive Officer, commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Festus Keyamo, Aviation Minister, for the intervention, saying the approval allows struggling operators to shave off nearly a third of their outstanding obligations to federal agencies—a move aimed at stabilising a sector hit by a 300 percent surge in Jet A1 fuel prices over the last quarter.

However, the economist warned that the celebration should be brief. According to the CPPE, the real threat to the survival of Nigerian wings isn’t just past debt, but a “hostile” present-day fiscal environment.

The CPPE highlighted a staggering industry estimate: cumulative charges from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) now swallow up to 35 percent of airline revenues.

“A level that is clearly incompatible with the thin margins typical of the aviation business,” Yusuf noted.

He detailed a fragmented and “overly burdensome” regime of fees that includes ticket and cargo sales charges, passenger service and facility fees, landing, parking, and boarding bridge charges, administrative and aircraft Inspection fees and heavy import duties on critical aircraft spare parts.

Samuel Caulcrick, the former Rector of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria told BusinessDay that local airlines claim that tensions in the Middle East have pushed the price of Jet A1 to over N2,500 per litre, adding that the domestic aviation landscape has begun to face significant operational shifts amid soaring operating costs.

Caulcrick explained that historically, fuel accounted for about 30 percent of standard airline ticket calculations before the Middle East conflict; however, the spike in crude prices and the devaluation of the naira have pushed fuel to between 45 percent and 55 percent of total airline operating costs.

“These massive price hikes of Jet A1 prices at a time jumped from about N900 to highs exceeding N3,300 per litre across several marketers, throwing airline economics into disarray.

“Consequently, a standard one-hour, one-way economy ticket was selling between N150,000 and over N200,000 depending on the route and booking window,” he said.

He said while airlines are justified in recovering their costs to stay afloat, regulators have historically frowned upon ‘coordinated’ fare hikes or arbitrary add-ons that could be interpreted as uncompetitive pricing.

This, he said, will leave little room for airlines to add their typical fuel surcharges on top of the already bloated base rates without facing regulatory friction.

“It could have appeared transparent to leave the base airfare as it was and adjust upward the fuel surcharges that have always been a component of airfares as an add-on,” he added.

However, John Ojikutu, CEO of Centurion Aviation Security and Safety Consult, said if the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) is effective in its oversight and enforcement of the Economic Regulations on the airlines with their tariffs, the average ticket fare for local flight cannot be less than $180/$200 for fare and fuel alone and not including other ground/air services.

“In the early 90s, average airfare was N3,800/N4,000 and naira to dollar rate was N40/$ when fuel was refined in Nigeria and sold at N100/N120. Time and things have changed, he said.