FCCPC may sanction airlines over festive fare hike

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) says airlines found to have manipulated ticket prices during the 2025 Christmas and New Year travel period may be required to refund passengers who paid excessive fares.

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The commission disclosed this after concluding preliminary investigations into complaints of sharp increases in domestic airfares during the festive season.

Speaking at a State House “Meet the Press” briefing in Abuja on Thursday, the Executive Vice-Chairman of the commission, Tunji Bello, said the agency had already established wrongdoing by some operators and was now considering sanctions.

“The preliminary report is ready. We’ve already found them wanting in that regard. We are now on the issue of penalties,” Mr Bello said.

He added that the commission is considering measures that could compel the airlines to return excess charges to affected passengers.

“What we are also considering is to look at the situation where we will have to ask them to refund the excess to the passengers which we assume they exploited,” he added.

The investigation followed widespread complaints from travellers over steep increases in airfares during the December holiday period.

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The consumer protection agency had in December 2025 announced an industry-wide probe into the pricing practices of domestic airlines after ticket prices surged dramatically on several routes.

According to the commission’s earlier findings, some routes recorded price differences of up to ₦405,000 between normal fares and the amounts charged during the peak festive travel period.

The findings have, however, been disputed by the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), the umbrella body of domestic carriers. In February, the group argued that the sharp increase in airfares during peak travel periods is largely driven by market forces such as high passenger demand, limited aircraft capacity, rising operational costs and foreign exchange pressures, rather than collusion among airlines to fix prices

Passengers had reported that tickets which usually cost around ₦150,000 were sold for between ₦400,000 and ₦600,000 during the rush period.

Mr Bello said the investigation revealed patterns suggesting possible price manipulation among several operators.

However, he declined to publicly name the airlines involved at this stage, noting that the final report would provide further details.

“I don’t want to mention the airlines. There are many of them. I know about five or six were involved, but I don’t want to mention names for now,” he said.

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He explained that the final report of the investigation would be released soon and would outline the commission’s decisions on penalties and other regulatory actions.

In a related development, the FCCPC boss also disclosed that the commission has begun probing rising cement prices across the country.

Mr Bello said an investigative team had already been constituted to examine the pricing pattern in the cement sector, adding that the findings would also be made public once the inquiry is concluded.

The FCCPC is Nigeria’s primary consumer protection and competition regulator, responsible for preventing anti-competitive practices and protecting consumers from exploitative business conduct.