According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), domestic air fare increased by 25% year on year (YoY) to N98,561.74 in July 2024 from N78.775.74 in July 2023. The bureau announced this in its July 2024 Transport Fare Watch report.
The average fare paid by air passengers for specified routes for a single flight in July 2024 was N98,561.74, representing a 9.65% increase over the previous month (June 2024).
“On a YoY basis, the fare rose by 25.12 percent from N78,775.74 in July 2023.” Recall that last month, the Federal Government announced plans to increase tax rates in response to complaints from Nigerian airline operators over multiple taxes.
At the League of Airports and Aviation Correspondents seminar in Lagos, Umar Farouk, Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, announced that the agency’s en-route navigational charges would be raised from N2,000 and N6,000 to N18,000 and N54,000 every flight.
Furthermore, the airspace agency increased the number of service hours extended to airlines from N50,000 to N450,000, reflecting an 800% increase per extension, allowing the agency to recover the cost of diesel and other logistics during the extension time.
As a result of these implementations, airfares may climb by 800%. However, the costs paid for bus, motorbike and waterway travel fell in July 2024.
NBS stated that the average fare paid by commuters for bus rides inside the city per drop declined by 2.18 percent, from N963.58 in June 2024 to N942.61 in July 2024. “On a YoY basis, it fell by 29.46 percent from N1,336.29 in July 2023.”
“In another category, the average fare paid by commuters for bus journey intercity per drop was N7,117.17 in July 2024, indicating an increase of 0.35 percent on a MoM basis compared to N7,092.03 in June 2024”.
