Air passengers have lamented the N2,000 parking fee imposed by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) on every vehicle picking up passengers from the arrival at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos.
Vehicle owners who come to pick up passengers at the arrivals are charged N2,000 before being allowed to access the arrival gate.
The passengers described the fee as outrageous, saying that travellers exiting Nigerian airports are only made to pay to be allowed out.
Other passengers disclosed that travellers are already paying many levies and charges, stating that these payments are higher than in other airports worldwide.
According to the passengers, the major issue is that the airports don’t look like they are making much money; they look deplorable, with airport workers begging for money from travellers.
They disclosed that airport security harassed passengers, asking them to open their bags in the wrong places.
ThisDay reports that the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection of FAAN, Obiageli Orah, disclosed that the authority introduced the fee to make motorists use the multi-storey car park, stating that anyone who drives straight would pay N2000.
TimesNow.com.ng earlier reported that the North Central Zones recorded the highest domestic airfares in Nigeria in July 2024, with an average flight rate of N102,139.71 for a single journey on designated routes.
The data is from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Transport Fare Watch for July 2024.
The figure is above the national average of N98,561.74 and was the highest among the country’s six geopolitical zones.
The average airfare in the North Central zone increased by 20.10% from June 2024, when it was N85,047,73 and a massive 33.77% increase compared to the July 2023 figure with an average of N76.357.14.
A breakdown of the NBS data shows that North East had the second-largest average airfare at N101,141.22 in July 2024, representing a 12.80% rise from the previous month and a 25.02% rise from the corresponding period in 2023.
According to reports, the South-South came third, with an average airfare of N97.757.55, 8.77% higher than the N80.083.33 reported in June 2024 and 22,07% above the average from July 2023.
Additionally, the South West zone had an average airfare of N96.917.80, showing a 5.19% monthly rise and a 22.94% increase compared to last year.
The North West Zone had the lowest airfare among the six zones at N96,336, while the South East Zone showed a slight increase at N96,487.44.
TimesNow.com.ng earlier reported that data from the NBS disclosed that domestic airfares increased by 25% yearly to N98,561.74 in July 2024 from N78,775.74 in July 2024.
NBS data said in its Transport Fare Watch report for July 2024 that the average fare paid by air travellers for specified routes in a single trip was about N98,561.74 in July this year, a 9.65% increase compared to the previous month.
TimesNow.com.ng reports that in July, the Nigerian government indicated its intention to raise tax charges amid complaints by the Airline Operators Association of Nigeria (AON) over multiple taxations.
Source: TimesNow.com.ng
