Domestic airfares in Nigeria have increased by 218 per cent in just six months, forcing many citizens to cancel their Christmas travel plans.
The increase is due to rising operational costs and heightened demand for travel during the holiday season, which has made air travel out of reach for many.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the average cost of airfares on popular domestic routes like Lagos-Abuja jumped from ₦89,888 in June 2024 to ₦285,000 by December.
Other routes have experienced similar price hikes. A one-way economy ticket for Abuja-Owerri on December 20, 2024, initially priced at ₦143,000, skyrocketed to ₦285,800.
For the Abuja-Port Harcourt route, airlines are also charging ₦285,800 for a single trip. On the Abuja-Lagos route, fares ranged from ₦114,000 to ₦220,000 in mid-December but are expected to climb above ₦285,000 as demand intensifies.
The rising costs have left many Nigerians grappling with difficult choices. Some have opted for road travel despite the risks of insecurity, while others have entirely cancelled their holiday plans.
“My son is getting married this weekend in Kano,” said Mabel Wuku, a civil servant told Business Day.
“Normally, I’d take a bus for ₦12,000, but because of the road situation and insecurity, I spent ₦95,000 on a one-way flight to Kano. That’s more than half my monthly salary,” she added.
Ezenwa Joshua, a mother of three, said: “I can’t afford this, and I can’t travel on Nigerian roads with my children to such a far destination. I can’t pay ransom to a kidnapper.”
Others, like Joseph Egbe, have criticized the government for failing to address the affordability of air travel.
“Air travel is safer and faster. But now, the high airfare is discouraging people from flying,” he stated,
Experts attribute the surge in airfares to rising operational expenses, fueled by high fuel prices and the depreciating naira.
Festus Keyamo, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, assured Nigerians that the government is working to help domestic airlines acquire aircraft at reduced rates to alleviate operational costs and reduce ticket prices.
While domestic travel has become a luxury for many Nigerians, diaspora Nigerians are leveraging the weak naira to book flights home for the holidays.
Flights from Europe, the United States, and other regions are fully booked, with airlines increasing capacity to accommodate the influx.
Delta Air Lines, for example, transitioned to larger Airbus A330-900neo aircraft, adding daily nonstop flights between New York JFK and Lagos.
Similarly, United Airlines increased its Lagos-Washington, D.C., service to daily flights.
Despite the surge in international bookings, Nigerian travel agents are struggling. Many airlines now restrict ticket sales to foreign markets due to the high exchange rate, cutting local agents out of the business.
International flight prices have also soared. A one-way economy ticket from London to Lagos, which cost between ₦800,000 and ₦1.3 million eight months ago, now ranges from ₦2.65 million to over ₦4.6 million, depending on the airline.
“This is a high season for airlines,” said Yinka Folami, president of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies.
“That’s why tickets are much more expensive than they would ordinarily be,” he noted.
