Passengers at the airportÂ
By Akeem Atoyebi
Passengers on the southeast routes are already groaning over escalating airfare. With just less than one week to Christmas and two weeks to New Year celebrations, airfare has shot up into N700,000 for a return ticket.
NATIONAL WAVES’ survey of the websites of Air Peace, United Nigeria Airline, Ibom Air, Arik and Aero Contractor revealed that ticket fares to the Southeast states were extremely high.
The affected states are Anambra, Enugu Owerri, and Port Harcourt in the South South region of Nigeria.
The above-mentioned routes are expensive because they are predominantly Christian states, where the
Yuletide season is a period when many Nigerians return to their home states to celebrate with their extended families, meet old friends and have a feel of the old days with their kinsmen and women.
Also, due to insecurity and fear of being kidnapped or attacked, passengers see air travel as the safest means of reuniting with their loved ones during yuletide.
However, while the airfares on the other routes are relatively low, the South East routes, which will experience heavier traffic, are high and outrightly out of reach of most.
For instance, a return ticket on United Nigerian Airline from Lagos to Anambra goes for N700,000, while Abuja to Owerri flight on the same airline goes for N550,000.
The Outbound Lagos-Enugu route on 26 December costs N400,000, while a return inbound Lagos route on Friday 3rd January costs N95,000.
On December 24, one-way tickets on United Nigeria Airline from Lagos to Port Harcourt will cost N200,000, while one-way tickets from Lagos to Owerri are already sold out from December 20th to December 31st, 2024.
However, an Air Peace Airlines flight to Anambra State during this period costs N672,900. On the airline’s website, passengers are to pay N285,800 for Lagos to Anambra, while it is N387,100 for the return leg.
On the same Air Peace, a return ticket for Lagos-Enugu goes for N571,600 while Lagos-Imo goes for N666,900.
A one-way ticket on Ibom Air from Lagos to Uyo costs N152,700, a relatively low price compared to the South East routes.
Investigations have shown that the high airfares have forced many travellers on the Anambra, Owerri, and Enugu routes to choose to travel by road transportation.
Despite rising fuel prices affecting road transport as well, many travellers prefer buses or shared vehicles due to their lower costs and greater availability.
Transport operators have recently complained of significant a decline drop in passenger numbers, a trend they they blamed on the high cost of travel. Some companies have adjusted their services, offering shared rides in unregistered vehicles as a cheaper option, although safety concerns persist.
