No More N65,000: Airfare Increases as Aircraft Shortage Hits Nigerian Airports

• Passengers flying from Lagos to secondary airports have little choice in carrier
• This is due to the continuous aircraft scarcity at second-tier Nigerian airports
• Nowadays, some airlines have an excessive degree of influence over specific routes

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over 3-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

Due to the ongoing aircraft shortage at Nigerian airports, passengers traveling from Lagos to second-tier airports including Ilorin, Akure, Asaba, Benin, Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, Ibadan, and Yola are not able to choose which airlines to fly with.

In order to maximise financial gains, airlines with few aircraft have been obliged to either lower frequencies or halt operations on second-tier routes, focusing instead on first-tier or heavily trafficked routes.

Due to the situation, certain airlines now have a disproportionate amount of control over particular routes, which restricts passenger options and eliminates jobs that various airlines used to provide at the airports.

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Passengers' costs may also be affected. A one-way economy class ticket from Lagos to any of these destinations currently costs between N100,000 and N300,000. A fare from Lagos to any of the second-tier airports stood at an average of N65,000 last year.

The cost of tickets has also increased for routes that Dana Air used to offer. According to BusinessDay's research, fewer airlines currently operate on certain routes.

These second-tier airports were once served by five or more airlines; however, at the moment, two to three airlines mostly run these airports, and frequent irregular flights are the norm.

For instance, between September and the first week of October, only two airlines operate flights into Anambra airport on specific days. On the route, N116,000 is the lowest price for a one-way economy-class ticket.

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Asaba Airport serves three airlines. Due to competition on the route, tickets are selling for as little as N95,000.

The Lagos-Owerri route is now served by just two airlines, and tickets can cost anything from N116,000 to N300,000.

There are three airlines that provide flights between Lagos and Ilorin. One charges N100, 000 on average, while another charges anywhere from N115,000 to N219,000. The average fee charged by the third airline is N154,000. Not all of these airlines arrive in Asaba on the same days.

Three airlines routinely fly from Lagos to Benin airport, with economy tickets costing between N110,000 and N170,000. These airlines don't frequently travel this route.

A very competitive route is Lagos-Kano, with four airlines operating the route. In spite of the relatively great distance from Lagos, ticket costs are as cheap as N91,000 to N110,000 as a consequence.

Two airlines fly the Lagos-Akure route, with tickets priced between N130,000 and N260,000.

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There are no longer daily flights on the Lagos-Sokoto route, and on the few days that there are, just two carriers fly. Fares are between N150,000 and N175,000 for a one-way economy ticket.

Lagos – Ibadan route is now offered by majorly two major airlines with costs between N200,000 to N220,000 for a one-way economy class ticket on the route. The route is only occasionally flown by one airline, even with a N25,000 promotional ticket.

There are now just two airlines that offer daily flights to Kaduna, with prices ranging from N120,000 to N160,00.

Two airlines fly from Lagos to Yola, with prices ranging from N155,500 to N200,000.

September to early October is a non-flight period for Katsina airport.

According to West Link Airlines CEO Ibrahim Mshelia, the lack of dollars is giving airlines a lot of problems because they don't have any money and can't find any to pay for components and for their planes to return from maintenance.

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Airlines to suspend flights, reasons emerge

Legit.ng reported that air passengers in Nigeria may have trouble boarding their preferred airlines as aviation workers have threatened to commence a nationwide strike.

The aviation unions directed all workers to protest across all airports in Nigeria to demand an end to the federal government’s 50% deductions from the internally generated revenue of critical aviation agencies.

The unions said this in a statement on Wednesday, August 14, 2024, signed by Ocheme Aba, Frances Akinjole, Abdul Rasaq, Sikiru Waheed, and Olayinka Abioye.

Source: Legit.ng