The soaring cost of air travel during the December festive season has renewed concerns among Nigerians, even as industry stakeholders say airfares are not regulated in Nigeria, leaving airlines to determine ticket prices based on market forces, operating costs and passenger demand. However, questions remain about the extent of regulatory oversight and what the government can do to ease the burden on passengers. EJIKE EJIKE and YUSUF BABALOLA report.
Unlike some sectors where government agencies have the powers to approve or regulate prices, the Nigerian aviation industry operates a deregulated pricing system under which airlines determine their fares without requiring approval from local regulators.
The development means that neither the Federal Government nor the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) can simply fix or impose ticket prices on domestic airlines, despite public complaints over the rising cost of travelling, particularly during the Christmas and New Year period.
December traditionally witnesses a surge in passenger traffic as Nigerians travel to reunite with family members, attend social events, celebrate Christmas and participate in end-of-year activities.
The increase in demand, coupled with the limited number of available seats on some routes, creates conditions that allow airlines to increase fares, particularly as flights approach full capacity.
Before December, passengers paid about N300,000 for a return ticket from Abuja to Enugu or Lagos to Enugu, while a one-way ticket on any of the airlines cost between N150,000 and N180,000.
However, a check of airline fares by LEADERSHIP showed that passengers travelling from Lagos to Anambra on Air Peace between December 24, 2026, and January 2, 2027, would pay N676,000 for a return ticket, comprising N341,500 for the outbound flight and N335,500 for the return journey.
LEADERSHIP checks further showed that the airline restricted access to lower-fare inventories, making it difficult for passengers to determine whether the quoted ticket prices applied to economy or business class.
Similarly, a return ticket from Abuja to Anambra on the airline costs N677,000, with the first leg priced at N335,500 and the return trip at N341,500.
For passengers travelling from Lagos to Owerri during the same period, Air Peace charges N671,000 for a return ticket, with each leg costing approximately N335,500.
The fares are even higher on United Nigeria Airlines, where a return ticket from Lagos to Anambra between December 22, 2026, and January 2, 2027, costs N822,000. The outbound flight is priced at N511,000, while the return journey costs N311,000.
The airline’s Abuja-Anambra return fare stands at N757,000, comprising N411,000 for the first leg and N346,000 for the return trip.
Other destinations are also recording significant increases, with United Nigeria Airlines charging N656,000 for a return ticket from Lagos to Enugu and N682,000 for a return ticket from Lagos to Owerri.
Similarly, ValueJet’s return fare from Lagos to Owerri during the period under review is approximately N658,094, comprising N326,666 for the outbound flight and N331,428 for the return journey.
On the South-South routes, airfares for Lagos-Port Harcourt and Abuja-Port Harcourt between December 25, 2026, and January 2, 2027, stand at N311,000 for the outbound journey and another N311,000 for the return leg, bringing the total round-trip fare to N622,000.
Lagos-Asaba tickets cost N337,500 for the outbound journey and N341,500 for the return trip, bringing the total fare to N679,000.
Reacting to the high ticket fares, the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, NCAA, Michael Achimugu, said that under the deregulated arrangement, airlines were at liberty to apply different pricing structures, including higher fares for passengers who booked close to their departure dates and relatively cheaper tickets for those who made early reservations.
He explained that aviation was also an important component of international business, with airline pricing largely influenced by commercial considerations and global industry practices.
“International air transport operates within a liberalised commercial environment where airlines make pricing decisions based on competition, demand, route economics, fuel prices, exchange rates, aircraft leasing costs, insurance, maintenance and other operational expenses.
“Although governments and aviation authorities retain regulatory responsibilities, particularly in the areas of safety, security, consumer protection and competition, these responsibilities do not automatically translate into powers to dictate commercial ticket prices.
“In Nigeria, the NCAA is responsible for regulating the aviation industry and ensuring compliance with applicable civil aviation regulations. However, its regulatory mandate does not give it the power to arbitrarily determine how much airlines must charge passengers.
“The situation has become more challenging for domestic airlines because of the country’s operating environment, which is characterised by high aviation fuel costs, foreign exchange pressures, expensive aircraft maintenance, insurance premiums and other dollar-denominated expenses.
“Most airlines also contend with the high cost of maintaining aircraft, procuring spare parts and meeting international safety and operational standards.
“These expenses are often reflected in ticket prices, particularly when airlines are operating in an environment where the cost of doing business remains high.”
However, the NCAA’s explanation raises broader questions about the options available to passengers when faced with steep fare increases, particularly during periods of high demand, and the extent to which existing consumer protection regulations can address complaints relating to airline pricing practices.
Meanwhile, aviation experts attributed the development largely to increased passenger demand, inadequate airline capacity, insecurity along major highways and the concentration of festive-season travel on a few routes.
However, they expressed divergent views on the justification for the high fares, with some arguing that airlines were exploiting predictable seasonal demand, while others maintained that deregulation and market forces largely determine ticket prices.
An aviation analyst, Dr James Odaudu, said the sharp increase in airfares during festive periods, particularly on routes serving the South-East and South-South, was largely driven by the imbalance between rising passenger demand and limited flight capacity.
He explained that the Christmas and New Year celebrations traditionally trigger a significant increase in passenger traffic as Nigerians return to their communities for family reunions, cultural activities and other social engagements.
According to him, the available number of airlines and seats serving some of these destinations is often insufficient to accommodate the increased demand, creating an opportunity for operators to raise fares substantially.
Odaudu said, “The sharp increase in airfares during festive periods, particularly on routes serving the South-South and South-East, largely stems from the interplay of increased passenger demand and limited flight capacity.
“During festive seasons, travel surges as people return to their communities for family reunions, celebrations and other social engagements. Unfortunately, the number of airlines and available seats serving some of these destinations is often inadequate to accommodate the increased demand.
“This imbalance between demand and supply creates an opportunity for airlines to raise fares, sometimes by as much as 200 per cent. However, while seasonal fare adjustments are understandable within a liberalised market economy, it would be difficult to completely absolve some airlines of exploitative commercial practices, particularly where they appear to take undue advantage of predictable seasonal demand.
“Airlines are entitled to operate profitably and respond to market conditions, but profitability should not justify excessive pricing or the exploitation of passengers.”
Meanwhile, the Managing Director of Centurion Aviation and Security Services, Captain John Ojikutu, faulted domestic airlines for increasing fares during the festive season, arguing that the high passenger traffic should ordinarily provide an opportunity for operators to attract more customers through competitive pricing.
He maintained that airlines should take advantage of the predictable increase in passenger numbers during Christmas by expanding their capacity and offering more affordable fares rather than imposing higher prices on travellers.
According to him, the movement of Nigerians from major commercial centres to their hometowns during the Yuletide is a recurring pattern that should be factored into airlines’ operational and capacity planning.
Ojikutu said, “These are people, more of them outside their areas than those of other geographical zones. They are mostly traders but have no population to service their trading at home than outside their homes. They have the tradition of returning home together during the Christmas Yuletide.
“But making the airfare high during the Xmas season with more passengers than the period with less passengers is a bad business plan by the domestic airlines.
“Bringing down the price with more passengers makes sense to me than increasing it over or above the fare with fewer passengers, except you do not have the capacity to absorb the rise in the number of passengers. Less capacity to absorb the increase in the number of passengers can only be the reason for the increase in fares.”
Airline Reacts
Air Peace Says No Fare Increase, Cites Early Booking of Cheap Seats
Meanwhile, Air Peace has denied increasing its airfares ahead of the 2026 Yuletide season, attributing the high ticket prices being reported by passengers to the early exhaustion of cheaper fare categories and limited aircraft capacity.
The clarification comes amid growing concerns over the cost of domestic air travel ahead of the Yuletide season, with passengers facing significantly higher fares on some routes as demand rises and available seats become limited.
A senior official of the airline, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorised to comment publicly, said the carrier had not introduced any fresh fare increase, insisting that ticket prices remained largely unchanged.
She explained that airline ticket prices were dynamic, with fares varying according to demand, available seats and the category of tickets purchased by passengers.
According to her, passengers booking closer to the festive period may encounter higher fares because those who booked earlier would have taken advantage of the cheaper ticket categories.
“The only time we had a price increase was, I think, two months ago. Air Peace and United Nigeria Airlines announced an increase in fares because of the scarcity of fuel,” she said.
The official maintained that the airline’s current pricing structure had not changed, adding that passengers should not interpret the higher fares displayed on booking platforms as evidence of a fresh price increase.
She also attributed the situation to aircraft capacity, noting that the availability of more aircraft would increase the number of seats and provide passengers with more affordable options.
She disclosed that Air Peace was expecting additional Embraer E190 aircraft, which would expand its capacity once the aircraft received the necessary regulatory clearance.
“Being that we are having aircraft that are coming in, I’m sure you have the E190s. Once those aircraft get clearance, there will be more seats and more realistic fares for passengers,” she said.
The official further argued that Air Peace’s fares were comparable with those of other airlines operating similar routes, stressing that pricing was largely influenced by available capacity and the number of seats remaining in cheaper fare categories.
She urged passengers to understand that airline fares were progressive, meaning that the cheapest tickets were usually taken up first, leaving more expensive categories for subsequent bookings.
United Nigeria Airlines Cites One-Way Traffic, Rising Fuel Costs
United Nigeria Airlines has identified rising aviation fuel costs and the imbalance in passenger traffic during the festive season as major challenges affecting airline operations, warning that the cost of operating flights remains high even when aircraft return with fewer passengers.
The airline’s Chief Commercial Officer, Adedayo Olawuyi, said the seasonal travel pattern, particularly the high demand for one-way trips from Lagos and Abuja to South-East and South-South destinations, creates operational challenges for domestic carriers.
Speaking on the challenges facing airlines during the Yuletide travel season, Olawuyi explained that passengers often travel in large numbers to their home states but return to their places of residence in smaller numbers, leaving airlines with largely empty seats on return flights.
According to him, airlines incur almost the same operational costs regardless of the number of passengers on board, making it difficult to recover expenses when aircraft operate with low passenger loads on one leg of a journey.
He illustrated the challenge with an aircraft carrying 100 passengers, with an operating cost of N10 million per flight, translating to an average cost of N100,000 per passenger.
He explained that while an airline could fill all 100 seats on an outbound flight and recover the operating cost, carrying only five or six passengers on the return journey would create a significant financial burden.
Olawuyi said the airline had been making preparations to accommodate the expected increase in passenger traffic during the festive period by upgrading some flights, increasing frequencies and deploying larger-capacity aircraft.
Beyond the imbalance in passenger traffic, he identified the rising cost of aviation fuel as another major pressure on airline operations.
He said aviation fuel, which previously accounted for between 25 and 27 per cent of the airline’s operating costs, now represents almost 55 per cent, significantly increasing the financial burden on carriers.
According to him, the cost of aviation fuel has risen from about $900 per unit last year to between $2,100 and $2,400, depending on the airport.
He noted that airlines had not increased ticket prices proportionately to reflect the sharp rise in operating costs, making it increasingly difficult to cover expenses.
Olawuyi added that foreign exchange costs also remained a major consideration for airlines, given their exposure to dollar-denominated expenses.
He said airlines must balance the need to keep fares affordable for passengers with the imperative of recovering operational costs and sustaining their businesses.