‘High fares keep domestic aviation market stagnant’

President of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Nigeria, Dr Alex Nwuba

The President of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Nigeria, Dr Alex Nwuba, has said Nigeria’s domestic air travel market has remained largely stagnant, with about 15 million passenger journeys annually, with the bulk of the traffic generated by the same limited pool of travellers.

Nwuba, who is also the Second Vice President of the Aviation Safety Roundtable Initiative, said the high cost of air tickets had continued to keep a large proportion of Nigerians away from air travel.

He told journalists that although about 15 million passenger journeys were recorded on domestic routes each year, the figure did not represent 15 million individual travellers.

“These 15 million passenger trips we keep talking about are really generated by about one million people. It is the same group of people flying year after year. We will not move beyond that number until flying becomes more affordable and more Nigerians can participate,” he said.

His comments followed the failure of any of Nigeria’s nine scheduled domestic airlines to make Africa’s top 10 carriers in the 2026 Skytrax World Airline Awards, a development industry experts have linked to high operating costs and weak passenger demand.

Nwuba said the challenges facing the domestic aviation sector were largely rooted in an operating environment where airlines contend with multiple charges imposed by various government agencies.

“The government needs to restructure the entire industry. There are too many people with their hands in the pot, and they are free to charge whatever they like. Those costs are eventually passed on to the flying public,” he said.

The limited passenger base, he explained, creates a difficult cycle for airlines. Operators need higher passenger volumes to spread their substantial operating costs, but high ticket prices discourage many potential travellers from flying.

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He added that the resulting low passenger traffic also limits airlines’ revenue growth and reduces their ability to absorb unexpected expenses, including fluctuations in foreign exchange rates and rising aircraft maintenance costs.

According to Nwuba, reforms aimed at reducing airfares could help break the cycle by encouraging more Nigerians to travel by air, thereby expanding the market and improving airlines’ revenue through a larger customer base.

He said a more affordable domestic aviation system would not only make air travel accessible to more Nigerians but would also support business, tourism, education, medical trips and other economic activities that require movement across the country.

Nwuba therefore called on the Federal Government to review and rationalise the taxes and charges imposed on airlines, while considering targeted interventions to reduce their operating costs.

“Costs must be brought down through structural adjustment in the industry. Government has a role to play. Around the world, governments provide different forms of support to strategic sectors, and aviation should not be an exception,” he said.

He further warned that airlines could be forced to reduce operations if rising costs of doing business, foreign exchange challenges, and multiple industry charges continue to pressure their finances.