Domestic airlines in Nigeria have increased their minimum base fares to about N200,000 for one-way tickets following the continued rise in aviation fuel prices and mounting operational costs.
Checks across the booking portals of several airlines showed that the fare increase affects most operators, although a few carriers are yet to adjust their ticket prices as of press time.
Daily Trust reports that United Nigeria Airlines has fixed its minimum fare at N200,000 regardless of destination, while Air Peace raised its one-way fares to about N211,600. Ibom Air also adjusted its base fare upward to approximately N200,300.
However, some airlines retained relatively lower fares on selected routes. Arik Air maintained fares between N113,000 and N114,000 for Abuja-Lagos flights, while Aero Contractors’ fares ranged from N123,127 to N146,702. ValueJet’s fares stood between N118,571 and N132,857 for Lagos-Abuja trips.
The increase came as aviation fuel, also known as Jet A1, now sells for about N2,650 per litre at some airports across the country, putting additional pressure on airline operators.
This is despite the slash in ex-depot price by the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals earlier in the week.
Some of the operators who spoke with our correspondent justified the decision to raise fares, blaming it on rising operational expenses, shrinking cash flow and growing debts within the aviation sector.
An airline official, who spoke anonymously because he was not authorised to comment publicly, said the adjustment followed extensive consultations and careful assessment of the economic situation.
According to the source, the fare increase was an individual business decision by each airline and not a coordinated action among operators.
“We have adjusted our minimum fares to N200,000 per flight irrespective of the route. This decision was taken after serious consideration of many factors,” the source said.
The official explained that airlines could no longer sustain operations under the current cost of aviation fuel, warning that failure to review fares could worsen the crisis in the industry.
“We cannot continue to subsidise travellers with the current situation of Jet A1. Cash flow has dried up and debts are increasing,” the source added.
Operators also appealed to passengers for understanding, describing the increase as painful but necessary for the survival of domestic airlines.
Meanwhile, aviation analyst, Group Capt. John Ojikutu has stressed the need to fix the pipelines conveying Jet A1 to the Murtala Muhammad Airport in Ikeja Lagos in order to reduce the logistics cost of bringing the product.
“Without bridging the supply with pipelines from Ejigbo to the airport, you may not get it lower than that. Give the concession out to the airlines (AON) or any other private operator who should not get more than N50/litre for the bridging or N100m for 2m litre instead of the N350/ltr or N700m for 2m daily by transportation,” he said.
DAILY TRUST
