By Ayomide Otitoju
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has refuted claims that the surge in domestic airfares in December was due to government taxes, attributing the rise instead to market forces driven by festive travel demand.
Michael Achimugu, Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the NCAA, clarified the position in a post on his X account on Sunday. He noted that the fare increases were limited to high-traffic routes and follow a recurring annual trend linked to the holiday season.
“It is market forces. It is Nigerians on Nigerians. This is not the government. December airfares have absolutely nothing to do with taxes. Taxes did not increase in December, and airfares will most likely go down after the second week of January,” Achimugu said.
The NCAA official also challenged reports that domestic airlines pay as many as 18 taxes, calling such claims false and misleading. “I invited all domestic airlines and asked them directly about these taxes, and they all admitted they do not pay the figures being bandied around,” he said.
Achimugu’s clarification comes after Air Peace CEO Allen Onyema stated that Nigerians pay the world’s cheapest domestic airfares, but airlines retain only about ₦81,000 from a ₦350,000 ticket after taxes and charges, placing operators under financial pressure.
While the NCAA does not regulate ticket prices, Achimugu said the Authority monitors industry practices closely and found no evidence supporting the narrative that taxes were responsible for the December fare surge. He questioned the justification for tickets selling for as high as ₦500,000 for flights under an hour, noting that taxes and jet fuel prices remained unchanged.
He also highlighted the government’s support for domestic airlines under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, including policy reforms allowing access to dry-leased aircraft, describing repeated claims blaming the government as “ironic and unsustainable.”
“Not a single airline staff I spoke with two weeks ago agreed with the excuses I am reading on social and traditional media,” Achimugu added.
The NCAA maintains that the December fare spike reflects seasonal demand pressures rather than tax policy or government intervention.
