Airfares
Nigerian airlines record low patronage over insecurity
Nigerian airlines have confirmed that passenger traffic has reduced in the last four weeks. This, they attributed to the growing insecurity in different parts of the country. Those who spoke to newsmen insisted that high airfares could be a factor, but insecurity was also identified as major reason. They noted that even at the peak of high cost of tickets in May and April, passenger traffic was still high. Newsmen learnt that some airlines that resumed flights to some destinations in the north had to withdraw, while the south-east airports, which used to be lucrative routes after Lagos and Abuja have recorded reduction in passenger movement. Head of Communications, Dana Air, Kingsley Ezenwa, told newsmen that there is slight reduction in the airline’s load factor in its flights to Enugu, O...
Air passengers decry upsurge in fares, seek urgent attention to roads, railway
Nigerians, who travel by air, have decried the “sudden” upsurge in air fares and urged the Federal Government to intervene to avoid poor patronage that could dwindle the fortunes of the aviation industry. Newsmen report that the air fares shot up by about 100 per cent in the last one week, with some airline operators even raising their fares by as much as 120 per cent or more. At Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, the fare from Abuja to Lagos, which was N35,300 (Economy Class), rose to between N70,000 and N75,000. Newsmen found that Business Class travellers were charged between N100,000 and N120,000, depending on the airline. Our correspondents, who visited other airports across the country, found that the rise in airfares was the same, a situation that forced some passengers to...
Senator Sirika: I don’t control airfares
The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, on Thursday, said he was not in a position to regulate airfares for airlines. Sirika stated this when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Aviation to brief senators on the level of the sector’s preparedness to begin flight operations on July 8. He said, “Price is not in my hand but from what we put in place, I do not think that anything significant will happen to affect the propensity to fly.” The minister, however, said necessary protocols have been put in place to ensure social distancing within the airport premises and inside the aircraft. He said, “There is nothing like rush hour again. People have to stay safe before anything happens. “So I’m sure that as civil aviation we are responsible to ensure that everybody remains safe. So t...
