How Airfare Doubled in Nigeria In 12 Months

Within the space of 12 months, the price to be paid by an average aircraft passenger for a particular journey in Nigeria has doubled what it was, according to the data extracted from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) by AllNews Nigeria's factcheck desk.

The average airfare jumped from N38,253.36 in December 2021 to N74,597.30 in December 2022.

Also, air travel fares for specified routes, and single journeys, increased by 1.81% monthly from N73,267.57 in November 2022 to N74,597.30 in December 2022.

On a year-on-year, the fare is expected to rise if the reason for the increase is not addressed.

Why the increase?

Before now, the cost of flying in Nigeria was relatively economical compared to other countries. 

Today, the story has unfavourably changed for the worse.

The country’s airline system, which used to soar, is gradually becoming unpalatably sour. 

When our reporter contacted a top official in the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) who prefers to remain anonymous, he said the consistent increase in the cost of aviation fuel led to the price hike. 

“Nigeria used to be one of the countries with the most frugal airfare intra and internationally, but unprecedented increase in aviation fuel has skyrocketed the flight tickets prices. 

“It is something we also detest and we try as much as possible to avert.

"Nigeria is the biggest economy in Africa and I understand the aviation industry's importance to the economy's growth.

"But we are almost left with no choice”, he revealed.

The official added that airfare had increased worldwide even in developed countries because the aviation fuel price hike is a general problem that requires global solutions.

Our reporter asked if there was a victory in sight for air travellers for the price to come down anytime soon, but the official did not respond.