Lagos to Abuja now costs N100,000 as operators list challenges

Airlines in the country have announced a 100 percent increase in airfare tickets amid high cost of aviation fuel, and low number of aircraft.

This was revealed by Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) listing unavailability and the ever-rising cost of aviation fuel (Jet A1); unavailability of forex for spare parts and maintenance; delays from customs in the clearing of safety-critical spare parts; poor air traffic flow and inadequate check-in counters as the reason for the increase.

Lagos-Abuja route now goes for N100,000 return. It was less than N55,000 a week ago, and on the same flight, there are fears that passengers may pay as much as N80,000 to N100,000 for a one-way economy seat if they are booking on the day of travel.

A random check on the websites of major airlines showed that the economy ticket costs between N50,200 and N53,000 for a Lagos-Abuja trip 72 hours before the travel date.

Lagos-Abuja; Lagos-Port Harcourt; Lagos-Benin; Lagos-Enugu, as well as Abuja-Port Harcourt; Abuja-Kano and Lagos-Ilorin, on Air Peace was N50,000 as a base fare. Lagos-Abuja on Arik Air is between N50,250 and N54,750.

Also, Dana Air’s Lagos-Abuja one-way ticket costs between N50,000 and N54,000; also Port Harcourt-Lagos on Dana costs N50,000 to N58,000.

Abuja-Kano on Max Air is N50,000 one-way as the base economy fare, Ibom Air for Lagos-Abuja was sold for N80,000 as of yesterday, while its base economy fare was N53,000.