When Air Peace Chairman Allen Onyema declared that Nigerians are paying the cheapest domestic airfares in the world, the statement ignited immediate debate across the aviation sector. For many passengers confronted with festive season fares climbing above N350,000 for flights lasting barely an hour, the claim appeared disconnected from everyday reality.
Yet, when placed alongside the perspectives of former Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) Director General, Akin Olateru, and aviation analyst Dr. Alex Nwuba, Onyema’s assertion begins to reveal a deeper and more complex truth about the structure of Nigerian aviation and why flying remains both expensive for passengers and unsustainable for airlines.
Speaking during an interview on ARISE News, Onyema insisted that, in global terms, Nigerians are still paying less for domestic travel than passengers in many developed countries. He compared Nigerian routes to short domestic flights in the United States, citing Delta Air Lines’ Atlanta to Charleston service of under 50 minutes, selling for nearly $400 one way, which translates to over N600,000 at current exchange rates. By contrast, he noted that Nigerian airlines still offer tickets between N115,000 and N125,000 on similar one-hour routes. According to him, this disparity is one of the reasons local airlines struggle to survive, as fares remain too low relative to operating costs.
However, the comparison struck many observers as incomplete, particularly at a time when airlines announced sharp increases for the yuletide season, with some fares reaching N350,000 to N399,999 for routes such as Lagos to Abuja, Enugu, Owerri and Asaba. For passengers, the immediate concern is affordability in naira terms, not how Nigerian fares convert to dollars when measured against foreign markets with higher income levels and more efficient systems.
This is where the intervention of Akin Olateru adds crucial context. Speaking during an Aviation Town Hall organised by Avaero Capital Partners, Olateru argued that high airfares in Nigeria are not primarily the result of airline pricing decisions but the outcome of deep structural and operational challenges within the system. He explained that while seasonal fare increases are common worldwide, Nigeria’s case is compounded by a mismatch between revenue and expenditure. Airlines sell tickets in naira, yet nearly 90 per cent of their costs, from aircraft leasing to maintenance and spare parts, are denominated in foreign currency. Combined with borrowing rates that can reach 35 per cent, compared to about two per cent in Europe and the United States, airlines are forced into a cost structure that leaves little room for affordable pricing.
Olateru described operational realities rarely visible to passengers. Aircraft are sometimes grounded for weeks because spare parts are delayed by foreign exchange bottlenecks and customs processes. Some operators reportedly keep one aircraft solely as a source of spare parts. Even when parts arrive, clearance delays at ports can neutralise the urgency of Aircraft on Ground situations, leading to lost revenue and low fleet utilisation. Multiple taxes, passenger service charges, value-added tax, ticket sales charges and security fees further inflate the base cost of travel before airlines even add their pricing. In this environment, he maintained, airlines cannot be expected to absorb costs without passing them on to passengers.
A broader perspective is offered by aviation analyst Dr. Alex Nwuba, who frames the issue as a systemic failure rather than a pricing dispute. Referencing a remark made in the 1990s by former Aviation Minister Nsikak Eduok that “flying is not for the poor,” Nwuba argues that the statement still rings true today because Nigeria never built the ecosystem required to make aviation affordable. In Europe, he notes, cheap flying did not happen by chance. Airports compete for traffic, governments subsidise regional connectivity, fuel supply chains are optimised, and rail and road networks are strong enough to force airlines to be competitive. Aircraft are utilised for up to fourteen hours a day, and regulatory processes are designed to reduce friction rather than add cost.
READ: Africa: Why Air Travel Is Cheap in Europe but a Luxury in Nigeria by Alex Nwuba
In Nigeria, by contrast, aviation fuel prices remain among the highest in the world, airports operate with little competitive pressure, road and rail alternatives are weak, and currency instability inflates leasing and maintenance expenses. Fleet utilisation is low due to operational inefficiencies and infrastructure constraints.
According to Nwuba, cheap flying is not created by airlines but by policy, infrastructure, efficiency and competition. Without these elements, airlines operate in a system that makes affordability nearly impossible.
When these perspectives are viewed together, Onyema’s claim takes on a different meaning. In strict dollar terms, Nigerian domestic fares may indeed appear lower than some foreign routes. But in economic reality, those fares are expensive for Nigerians because of income levels, purchasing power and the inefficiencies embedded in the aviation environment. What appears cheap in comparison becomes costly in context.
The recurring collapse of Nigerian airlines, more than 80 by some estimates, further underscores the problem. Low margins, high operating costs and systemic inefficiencies create a cycle where airlines struggle to survive while passengers struggle to afford tickets. The issue is not simply about what airlines charge but about the environment in which they are forced to operate.
Ultimately, the debate sparked by Onyema’s comments highlights a central truth acknowledged by all three voices: affordable air travel in Nigeria cannot be achieved by focusing on airlines alone. It requires fixing the broader ecosystem through stable financing conditions, efficient regulatory processes, competitive airport operations, improved infrastructure, rationalised taxes and a coherent national aviation strategy that prioritises efficiency and accessibility.
Until Nigeria builds the system that makes cheap flying possible, airfares will continue to feel high to passengers and unsustainable to airlines. The conversation, therefore, is less about who is right and more about understanding why the current system produces outcomes that frustrate both operators and travellers. In that sense, the debate serves as a reminder that aviation pricing in Nigeria is not merely a commercial decision but the product of policy choices, structural realities and long-standing inefficiencies that demand urgent attention.
