Exorbitant Airfares, Passenger Traffic Attracts International Airlines to Nigerian Airspace

Chinedu Eze

Aviation industry experts have lamented that international airlines are taking undue advantage of the exorbitant airfares and surge in passenger traffic in the Nigerian aviation sector to operate in the country.

The experts are of the view that international airlines are cashing out on Nigeria, thus making the country the most profitable destination in Africa.

The failure of foreign airlines to repatriate all their revenue from Nigeria and the devaluation of the naira with the merging of official and parallel exchange rates, have made airlines to charge high inventory fares, making the airlines record the highest profit per passenger on the Nigerian route.

According to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), 16 international airlines operate into Nigeria and in 2022, the total inbound and outbound passenger traffic was 3, 503, 692, but industry experts projected that international passenger traffic in 2023 would surpass that of the previous year.

According to them, the first quarter of 2023 data indicated that more people travelled out of the country than the same period last year.

THISDAY gathered that economy class ticket from Lagos to London and Lagos to Paris and most European destinations, which cost around N1.5 million a month ago, now cost an average of N1.9 million to N2.2million depending on the airline. 

For instance a Lagos to Paris economy class ticket on British Airways cost about $2,500, but using the N770 exchange rate to a dollar, it will amount to about N1.92million. Lagos to London economy class ticket on British Airways cost about $2,800 which amounts to about N2.15 million and Lagos to London economy class ticket on Qatar Airways cost around $2,900, which amounts to about N2.23 million.

Also, economy class ticket from Lagos to United States through connecting flights, which cost about N1.7 million a month ago is currently between N2.2 million and N2. 6 million and economy class ticket from Lagos to Atlanta, United States on Delta Air Lines cost about N2.4 million. The same ticket on Lufthansa and Qatar Airways, now cost around N2.6 million.

A Business class ticket from Lagos to London, Lagos to France and most European countries which cost about N2 million, now cost an average of N2.9 million to N3.4 million; while a Business class ticket from Lagos to London on Lufthansa Airline cost about N2.9 million and N3.4 million on Qatar Airways.

Also a Business class ticket from Lagos to the United States, which cost an average of N2.4 million a month ago now cost about N4.9 million on Qatar Airways and N6.9 million on Ethiopian airlines. Air Maroc appears to have the cheapest ticket on the route, costing about N2.4 million.

It is also observed that direct flights to destinations without connecting flights from airlines’ operating hubs cost more, but industry experts express surprise that instead of such high fares discouraging passengers from travelling, the airlines are witnessing surge and high load factor.

Former President of the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA) and the Group Managing Director, Finchglow Holdings Limited, Mr. Bankole Bernard, told THISDAY that the high fares are not discouraging Nigerians from traveling because of three key factors.

Bernard said that other Africans do not have the same travelling culture as Nigerians, remarking that Kenya and Ghana, for example, have good quality schools so many of their students don’t travel overseas for education.

“Not travelling overseas for study can reduce the number of people who travel out of the country by 50 per cent. So, if Nigerians stay back from traveling overseas for studies it will significantly reduce passenger traffic. Also, Nigerians travel overseas for medical reasons and then we have a huge population, the biggest population not just in Africa but in the black race; so, you expect more people to travel from Nigeria,” Bernard said.

The former NANTA President also explained that it is the true that airfares from Nigeria is high but it is determined by supply and demand principles.

“Airlines are not charging high fares; it is demand that is pushing up the fares. We who sell the airlines ticket, we don’t do promotions because it is when you don’t have patronage that you do promotions; you don’t expect airlines to sell promo tickets when there is high demand,” he said.

Speaking in the same vein, travel expert and the organiser of Akwaaba African Travel Market, Ambassador Ikechi Uko, told THISDAY that every airline operating into Nigeria is charging maximum fare and the flights are still recording full load.

“International passenger traffic rose in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last year, while there was slump in passenger traffic on domestic travel in the same period. One can explain the reduction in domestic passenger traffic. After the election many people were disappointed so, there was reduction in movement. Things just slowed down. When you look at the airfares in Africa you will notice that Abuja and Lagos are the highest for the same flight period. The exchange rate and the airlines’ trapped funds prompted international carriers to charge maximum fares,” he said.

The Managing Director of Flight and Logistics Solutions Limited, Amos Akpan, said that Nigeria has huge passenger traffic, noting that there are also high expatriate population in Nigeria that also travel, like the Indians, Lebanese, Chinese and others, noting that Indians alone can fill flights to India three times a week.

He added that unlike Ethiopia that operates a hub, where Ethiopia Airlines may bring one million passengers and only 200, 000 would be dropping in Ethiopia while 800, 000 would connect flights to other destinations, but Nigeria constitute about 80 per cent of the travellers from Nigeria, while expatriate constitute the remaining 20 per cent.

“So, Nigeria has high number of air travellers. We don’t have a hub like Ethiopia and Kenya; if we have a hub, the population of the travellers at the airport will double because those connecting flights from other parts of Africa, especially West and Central Africa will grow the travelling population to double what it is today,” Akpan said.