There are reports that the federal government is planning to slash airfares by 50%.
This is according to a report by NewTelegraph.
The report revealed that FG is working on providing subsidies to airlines in the country to help reduce the high cost of air travel.
Festus Keyamo, the minister of aviation and aerospace development, is reported to have held a meeting with the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) on Friday, December 15, 2023.
Those present at the meeting are the President of AON, Dr Abdulmunaf Yunusa Sarina, his executive members, and other airline operators.
NewTelegraph reports that during the meeting, it was discussed that passengers travelling would be given a form to fill out by the airline they are flying.
The airlines will then forward the completed forms to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and a 50% refund of the ticket’s value after deducting taxes and charges, specifically the 5% Tickets Sales Charge (TSC) collected by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on behalf of certain agencies.
It was revealed that work has begun to achieve it, and the actual implementation will commence in February after finalising the details.
A source quoted said:
“The idea is that anyone who wants to travel picks a form and fills in her/his details, this information will be sent to the CBN for a refund of 50 per cent of the value of the ticket price.”
The latest report is as a result of high cost of air travel in Nigeria, with a one-way ticket rising from just N35,000 in 2021 to as high as N100,000 to N500,000.
Currently, fares from Lagos to Abuja, for instance, are as high as N100,000 and more, while fares to cities like Owerri, Enugu, Anambra, Port Harcourt, Calabar, Uyo, Asaba and Benin attract fares as high as N160, 000 and N200,000 for an economy one-hour flight.