Astronomic Airfares: Travelling in pain for Christmas

The frustration isn’t just about the money; it’s about the lack of choice. With road travel increasingly avoided due to safety concerns, thousands of Nigerians are forced into an aviation market that is currently at its most expensive and volatile in history.

It is incredibly frustrating to feel like you’re being “priced out” of seeing family, especially during the holidays.

When airfares skyrocket, the emotional toll of potentially missing Christmas can be just as heavy as the financial burden.

As the final week of December 2025 unfolds, passenger outcry over “astronomical” airfares has reached a boiling point, with some price hikes of 300–400% above typical off-peak rates.

In Nigeria, the situation is particularly dire. Domestic fares to the South-East and South-South have surged to unprecedented levels, with some one-way tickets from Lagos or Abuja priced at ₦500,000-₦800,000.

Worsening insecurity on major highways has forced millions of people who usually travel by road to fly, creating a significant demand-supply imbalance.

Uncomfortable with what is playing out, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) recently summoned airline operators to explain these “sharp increases” and warned of fines up to ₦100 million for price gouging or “ticket racketeering” (where agents buy in bulk to resell at a premium).

As of December 18, 2025, the outcry over Nigerian airfares has moved from “expensive” to “unreachable.”

 Passengers are currently facing an “unheard-of 400% increase“ in domestic ticket prices, with some one-way fares to the South-East and South-South regions reaching as high as ₦800,000.

The Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, has noted that while the government is engaging airlines, the market is largely deregulated, meaning the government cannot legally “set” a maximum price for private operators.

Lawmakers have proposed a 50% reduction in aviation taxes and levies during the festive period to ease the burden, though this has not yet been implemented for the 2025 rush.

Airline officials, travel agents and destination management companies told our correspondent that market forces largely dictate demand for seats.

Group Managing Director of FinchGlow Holdings, Mr Bankole Bernard, told Aviation Metric that the hope of a dip in airfares for now is unrealistic, as passenger volumes continue to surge at airports for end-of-year travel.

Bernard said business projections for ‘Detty December’ have also occasioned distortions in pricing, not just for airfares, but also had a debilitating effect on e-hailing rides, hotel bookings, short-letting facilities, prices for events, and other products and services associated with end-of-year celebrations.

Bernard, a former president of the  National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) said high airfares stem from supply/demand imbalance, but are worsened by excessive government taxes, levies, and high operating costs (dollar-denominated expenses like fuel/lease).

All these, he said, are forcing airlines to prioritise “yield over volume,” meaning fewer seats sold at much higher prices to cover costs, not passenger comfort.

He asked the government to reduce charges and treat airports as businesses to lower fares.

Chief Commercial Officer of ValueJet, Trevor Henry, said there is “too much capacity” on specific routes, but this is a market distortion rather than an actual surplus.

Stakeholders stated that the notion that the Nigerian aviation market is “flooded” is a technical reality in aircraft orders but a practical myth for travellers on the ground.

Managing Director of Belujane Konsult, Mr Chris Azu Aligbe, admitted that the fares are totally unjustifiable, further describing the increase to the plight of passengers as ‘insensitive’.

“The increases are not fair to the industry and to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, who has done so much to improve the status of the airlines. They are bringing his efforts almost to nought because with increases, people are criticising the NCAA and the Minister.

Aligbe further stated that high taxes are a mischievous diversionary tactic, noting that taxes have not changed; they have remained the same for a long time.

He said, ‘It is very insensitive. FAAN has not increased their charges. No other people have increased charges. That is why I said it is very insensitive and exploitative.

The carriers’ actions, he said, have justified the emergence of state-owned airlines, describing existing airlines as pelicans that think they are pecking at wood. Still, they peck themselves because the emergence of a state-owned airline is now justified.

The Managing Director of Aero Contractors, Capt Ado Sanusi, said, “ I keep saying it. I don’t think 100 to 200 per cent increase is unjustified but I think this a call for us as an industry to come and see what is the problem because if the airlines are saying it is demand and supply and the consumers are saying, no, it is a big problem”.

“There is a need for us to come together and actually look at it. Is it actually a demand-supply issue, or is it a price gouging issue, or is it a capacity issue?

Wole Shadare