FG set to intervene as Nigerians laments over high airfare

• The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development has promised that there will soon be a reduction in airfare
• Fares increased as a result of local operators' inability to meet the growing demand for air travel
• The minister also mentioned the different challenges that local operators face, including restricted access to aircraft, and others

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

Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and Aerospace Development, has pledged that a decrease in airfare will occur shortly.

The lack of money in the nation has made it difficult for many airlines to service their aircraft. Photo Credit: Daniel Garrido
Source: Getty Images

According to Keyamo, local providers were unable to keep up with the increasing demand for air travel, which resulted in a rise in fares.

The minister also noted the various obstacles faced by local operators, such as limited access to aircraft, maintenance, and repair facilities, and challenges acquiring foreign exchange for the purchase of replacement parts.

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The most popular route on the network, Lagos-Abuja, currently charges an average of N120,000 per passenger for each hourly trip, indicating that airfares have been rising.

At the present exchange rate, the Punch reported that this corresponds to an increase of almost $83 per passenger.

The minister did, however, reassure that the government is acting on these concerns and that discussions are currently taking place with aircraft manufacturers to acquire more aircraft for use on both domestic and international routes.

“There is a shortage of aircraft in Nigeria to service routes, which I think is the major problem we are facing now. The local operators are struggling to cover their routes even locally, not to talk of our international routes.“Lufthansa is coming here, we are not going to Frankfurt, we only managed to get the London route recently for Air Peace, and we are also pushing for them to take us to Heathrow,” he noted.

Many airlines have been having challenges servicing their planes due to the scarcity of dollars in the country.

FG sets condition to Fly US routes

Legit.ng reported that in order for Nigerian airlines to operate on US and other foreign routes, the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development has stated that they must exhibit increased capacity and consistency as well as achieve the required requirements.

Tunde Moshood, the ministry's spokeswoman, told the PUNCH over the phone that Nigeria was ready to expand its presence in international aviation.

He mentioned that if they proved to be capable and reliable, Nigerian flag carriers Air Peace and Air Contractors might be able to open up routes to the US.

Source: Legit.ng