The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of United Airlines Limited, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, has said domestic air travel in Nigeria remains among the cheapest in the world, despite widespread complaints by passengers over rising ticket prices.
Okonkwo, who also serves as spokesperson for airline operators in Nigeria, made the assertion on Thursday while speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, amid accusations of fare hikes by local carriers.
He argued that Nigerian airlines are operating under intense financial pressure but have continued to keep fares relatively low compared with those in many other countries.
According to him, airlines globally operate in the same aircraft market and incur similar staffing costs, but Nigerian operators face significantly higher expenses due to unfavourable loan terms, multiple taxes and dollar-denominated operational costs.
“I think internal air travel within Nigeria is one of the cheapest,” Okonkwo said.
“We know the rates around the world. If you get a ticket for $100, it must have been discounted, and there must be someone else on that same aircraft who paid $1,000.
“We use high ticket prices to compensate for low ticket prices. We operate in the same market, buy aircraft from the same market, and pay staff like airlines in other countries.”
Okonkwo noted that nearly all operational expenses in Nigeria’s aviation sector including spare parts, maintenance and equipment procurement are paid for in dollars, even though tickets are sold in naira.
He added that local airlines access loans at interest rates of between 30 and 35 per cent, compared with between 2 and 7 per cent for their counterparts abroad.
“Our operational costs are enormous. We also pay many taxes and levies that do not exist in other parts of the world. Yet, we still charge relatively low fares,” he said.
“I fly around the world and pay about $1,400 for a 45-minute flight. Nigeria remains one of the countries with the cheapest airfares and this is often to the detriment of operators.”
He warned that high operating costs have contributed to the collapse of several Nigerian airlines in recent years and called for the removal of excessive taxes and levies to ensure the sector’s sustainability.
Addressing allegations of price gouging, Okonkwo dismissed claims that airlines were exploiting passengers, attributing recent fare increases to heightened travel demand during the festive season.
He said such trends were common globally during peak travel periods and stressed that airlines typically plan for these surges through maintenance schedules and fleet deployment.
Okonkwo also criticised the circulation of what he described as sensationalised ticket prices on social media, explaining that the highest fare categories were often mistaken for standard economy tickets.
“In any aircraft where you see a fare of N400,000, there are also seats where passengers paid N100,000,” he said.
“At the end of the day, the average fare may be between N120,000 and N150,000. Airlines operate multiple fare classes, even within the economy cabin, and must sell a certain number of seats just to break even.”
While expressing sympathy for Nigerians affected by high fares, Okonkwo recalled that when air tickets sold for between N20,000 and N30,000, the naira exchanged at about N250 to the dollar.
“Today, even the highest fares being circulated are barely $200,” he said.
“Many of those prices being sensationalised are not economy tickets. They are either business class or premium economy, often purchased on the day of travel.”
His remarks come amid heightened regulatory scrutiny of domestic airlines.
Last week, the House of Representatives urged the Federal Government to grant tax waivers to airlines and cut auxiliary charges by 50 per cent to reduce fares during the Yuletide season.
The Senate has also summoned the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, and other stakeholders over rising ticket prices.
Meanwhile, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has expanded its investigation into what it described as suspicious and potentially exploitative increases in domestic airfares, particularly on routes serving the South-East and South-South.
In a statement last Friday, the FCCPC said it was reviewing airlines’ pricing templates and ticketing practices to determine whether the fare increases violate the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018.
The commission stressed that while it is not a price-control body, it is mandated to protect consumers from exploitation and will take action where evidence of anti-competitive or collusive pricing is established.
