International airfares in Nigeria skyrocket by 282%

International travels traffic from Nigeria has been hit with a major blow, as foreign exchange, blocked foreign airlines funds, amongst others have pushed the price of airfare tickets to 282 per cent in one year.

This development has impacted summer travels negatively following the dynamics in the nation’s economy as passengers pay between N2.1 million to N2.3 million for a round trip outside Nigeria on economy ticket.

Currently, Nigeria has Bilateral Air Services Agreements with over 78 countries. From Nigeria, air travellers can fly directly to many of the world’s business centres such as London, Paris, Frankfurt, New York, Johannesburg, Atlanta, Amsterdam, Dubai and Jeddah to mention a few.

With the attainment of America’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) Category One Certification, Nigerian registered carriers can now fly directly into the United States of America (USA).

However, a survey by Saturday Vanguard showed that an economy class ticket for a round trip from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos to the George Bush International Airport Houston, IAH, which was sold between N500,000 to N550,000 in 2021, is now sold at N2.1 million.

Also, a round trip on an economy class ticket from Nigeria to London Heathrow Airport, which is less than 2, 000 pounds, is now 3,000 pounds and above. A round trip from Lagos to Johannesburg, South Africa, now sells for N500,000.

A breakdown of the charges that make up the total cost of an air ticket using the United States as a case study, includes Airfare, which varies, U.S. transportation tax, $38.20, September 11th security fee, $5.60, international surcharge, $400.00, U.S. APHIS user fee, $3.96, U.S. Customs user fee, $5.99, U.S. Immigration user fee, $7.00, Nigeria airport service charge, $100.00, Nigeria security charge, $20, U.S. passenger facility charge, $4.5.