Airlines, Staff, Touts Quote New Flight Ticket Prices for Passengers at Airports
- Nigerians looking to travel by air are paying higher prices at the black market due to a shortage of aircraft
- In most destinations, passengers are paying 100% more than the original fares when booking flights
- The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has reacted and sent an advisory to passengers at airports
Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of business journalism experience with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.
Airlines' staff and touts have created a black market for flight tickets, reportedly charging higher fares to intending passengers amid plane shortages at Nigerian airports.
Source: Getty Images
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) reports that there are at least 91 aircraft belonging to 13 domestic airlines operating in Nigeria, which include Aero, Air Peace, Arik, Azman, Dana, Green Africa, Ibom Air, Max Air, NG Eagle, Overland, Reno Air, United Nigeria Airline, and Value Jet.
Most of the aircraft are said to be under maintenance, resulting in a shortage and creating room for flight ticket racketeering.
Touts sells flight tickets at high prices
BusinessDay reports that some airline staff block seats on websites, preventing bookings, and then sell the tickets at inflated rates at airport terminals.
While touts are using fake ID cards to buy tickets to resell at higher prices to desperate passengers.
They sell premium tickets for one-way economy class ranging from N350,000 to N450,000 compared to the official price of N80,000 or N120,000.
Also, some Passengers pay between N230,000 and N300,000 for one-way tickets from Lagos to popular destinations like Abuja, Port Harcourt, Owerri, Enugu, Asaba, and Kano, Independent Newspaper reports
It was also reported that some airlines shut boarding gates 40 minutes to one hour before takeoff, denying them the right to fly while selling tickets to the highest bidders.
Passengers advised to be careful at airports
Reacting, Michael Achimugu, NCAA's director of public affairs and consumer protection, denied the existence of touts at airports.
He said the minister has set up a task force to eliminate some of these issues.
He said:
“On our part, the NCAA is looking towards enforcing the use of national IDs for checking in passengers. That way, touts who buy tickets from airlines only to resell at higher rates to others (while quickly printing fake ID cards for them at the airport) will be put out of business."
Passengers also have a responsibility not to accept to be part of the fraudulent ID situation."
Nigerians travelling abroad fight for N16m ticket
In an earlier report, Legit revealed how Nigerians travelling to the US, the United Kingdom and other countries pay a lump sum to get pricey tickets on the same aircraft.
The report said a business class ticket to the US from Abuja on Ethiopian Airline sells for as much as N15.6 million. In contrast, passengers in economy class on the same aircraft pay about N1.2 million.
The demand for the N15.6 million ticket is reportedly high but short on supply.
Proofreading by James Ojo Adakole, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.
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