Why air fares remain high in Nigeria — Experts

Aviation industry experts on Thursday said structural and operational challenges are the main drivers of high air fares in Nigeria, rather than airline pricing strategies alone

The experts made this known during an Aviation Town Hall meeting held on Thursday.

High air fares in Nigeria continue to spark public concern, with passengers often blaming airlines for inflated ticket prices.

According to Alex Nwuba of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), ticket prices are heavily shaped by airlines’ survival costs, including fuel, aircraft leasing, maintenance, and airport charges.

“Airline price for survival and cost components, which include fuel, lease, maintenance, and airport charges, directly shape what passengers pay,” he said.

He highlighted the impact of smaller fleets and grounded aircraft on pricing.

“In Nigeria, crowded aircraft, maintenance delays, and financing constraints have all reduced availability, causing costs to rise by as much as twenty per cent. Without scale, airlines cannot achieve the efficiency needed to offer affordable fares,” Mr Nwuba added.

The Managing Partner at Avaero Capital Partners, Sindy Foster, explained that ticket pricing is closely linked to the number of available seats.

“Even if total costs fall slightly, a reduction in capacity pushes the unit cost higher. Before any margin is added, fares must increase simply to recover costs,” she said.

She noted that in 2025, only forty-four aircraft were operational in Nigeria, while seventy-nine remained grounded, highlighting persistent capacity gaps.

Unit Cost and Ticket Pricing

The experts emphasised that when operational capacity is limited, total costs must be distributed among fewer passengers, driving fares upward.

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Ms Foster added that, “High air fares are not arbitrary. They are a reflection of structural inefficiencies in the system.”

She also warned that simply adding more airlines will not reduce fares unless broader capacity and operational issues are addressed.

Global Context

Mr Nwuba said global trends mirror Nigeria’s situation, where structural factors such as grounded aircraft, delayed maintenance, and limited operational scale drive fares higher, rather than airline greed.

“Structural constraints in capacity and operational efficiency affect pricing everywhere, and Nigeria is no exception,” he said.

However, the experts urged coordinated interventions to improve fleet availability, reduce maintenance delays, and expand airport capacity.

Mr Nwuba said, “The more important question is what keeps pushing capacity out of the system, and what would need to change to keep it in. Until that changes, fair outcomes will continue to look exactly as they do today.”

Ms Foster also stressed that addressing structural inefficiencies is critical for affordability.

“When attention stays fixed on price, passengers see high air fares as arbitrary or unfair. In reality, they reflect the conditions under which the system operates. Only by improving capacity and operational efficiency can we achieve a more affordable and resilient aviation market in Nigeria,” she said.

The discussion reinforced that high air fares are largely the result of systemic operational, maintenance, and capacity challenges rather than airline pricing decisions alone. Experts called for sector-wide measures to improve efficiency, increase operational scale, and enhance passenger accessibility.