Several airline operators in Lagos, Nigeria have stated that the recent decrease in air travel across the country is not solely due to exorbitant airfares. According to them, the fall in air travel is attributable to the normal low season in the industry and not the cost of fare. The operators made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday.
Fares confirmed online by NAN on Saturday showed that the Lagos to Abuja flight on Arik Air costs N132,976; it costs N150,000 on Ibom Air, while United Nigeria Airlines charged N142,500. Aero Contractors’ fare on Saturday for a flight from Lagos to Abuja was N196,548; Air Peace charged N143,000; Max Airline charged N78,000, while Dana Airlines charged N99,000.
The same Lagos to Abuja flight costs between N230,000 and N300,000 during the peak season in December. However, the operators noted that the fluctuating airfares were blameable on unstable foreign exchange rates. They said that it is not new for the industry to experience low season annually, and that passenger turnout could be assessed from around April or May.
Mr Achilleus Uchegbu, Head, of Corporate Communications at United Nigeria Airlines, emphasized that, in most cases, the cost of a ticket did not affect a passenger’s choice to travel. He stated that people travel when they want to travel and one cannot force them to travel. He also added that even when fares were very high during the Christmas season, people still traveled.
In response, Mr Adebanji Ola, Head of Corporate Communications, at Arik Air, agreed that the low season in the industry was not strange as it happened annually. He noted that the airport was not empty and terminal operations were going smoothly. Mrs Ajoke Yinka-Olawuyi, a senior official of Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Ltd., operator of Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two, Ikeja, also confirmed that the airport was not empty and that terminal operations were going smoothly.
However, an Abuja-bound air traveler, Mr Doma Doma, said that he would not blame the airlines as they were bound to review their rates as the exchange rate fluctuates. With the Christian Lenten season and the Islamic Ramadan fasting going on simultaneously, air travel is expected to reduce.
