Due to a combination of increased demand for travel and high operating costs, domestic airline rates have increased by 218 percent in just six months.
Many Nigerians have been forced to postpone their Christmas vacations due to the exorbitant cost of tickets; some are choosing to travel by car in order to save money.
In June 2024, the average airfare on popular routes, including Lagos-Abuja, was N89,888, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). But by December, the price had risen to N285,000, a 218 percent gain in just six months.
On December 20, 2024, a major airline published a one-way economy ticket for the Abuja-Owerri route for N143, 000; however, it was later reduced to ₦285,800.
There have also been significant price rises on the Abuja-Port Harcourt route; for example, a major airline now charges ₦285,800 for an economy ticket on December 20.
For a December 20 flight, BusinessDay discovered that certain airlines charged between N114, 000 and N220,000 for the Abuja-Lagos route; however, industry participants predict that this will surpass N285,000 in the days ahead.
Some airlines charged between N190,095 and N210,000 for flights on December 17 to 19, 2024, while others priced a one-way journey from Abuja to Port Harcourt at ₦237,714 on December 20.
Approximately eight months ago, a one-way economy class ticket from Heathrow London airport to Lagos would have cost between N800,000 and N1.3 million. Today, the average price is N2.65 million on Egypt Air, N3 million on RwandAir, N3.25 million on Turkish Airlines, N3.5 million on Emirates, KLM, and Air France, N3.7 million on Lufthansa, and N3.9 million on Qatar Airways.
Tickets for Virg*n Atlantic and British Airways, which have direct flights from London to Lagos, cost roughly N4.6 million and N4.2 million, respectively.
Passengers are struggling with the high expense of air travel as a result of the steep price hikes, particularly when demand surges around the holidays. Many Nigerians now consider domestic air travel to be a luxury due to the escalating fares caused by rising operating costs and insecurity in some areas.
As many Nigerians get ready to fly for Christmas and New Year’s celebrations, airfares spike during the holiday season, when demand for domestic flights is at its peak. Passengers who intend to travel near the end of the year are likely to experience severe financial hardship as a result of this price increase.
TimesNow.com.ng reported that some local airlines have increased their prices by more than 100% for flights to Southeast and South-South regions.
Starting on December 18, 2024, a one-way ticket would cost roughly N287,000.
Due to the increasing demand for tickets, airfares typically rise before the Yuletide. However, travelers claim that a number of economic issues are to blame for the exceptionally high cost of airline tickets this season.
Source: TimesNow.com.ng
