The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has dismissed claims that domestic airfares are inflated due to multiple taxes, insisting that airlines do not pay the alleged levies, while attributing fare increases to normal market forces of demand and supply.
Michael Achimugu, director of public affairs and consumer protection in a statement on X on Sunday, stated that repeated allegations of excessive taxes by the government on domestic flights are unfounded.
This is coming few hours after Allen Onyema, the Chairman and CEO of Air Peace, issued a stark warning regarding the future of Nigerian aviation, stating that a new wave of taxes and levies could see domestic ticket prices soar to ₦1 million and force major carriers out of business within months.
Onyema who spoke on ARISE NEWS on Sunday, said that the industry is currently “choking” under a regime of multiple and overlapping charges.
He noted that out of a typical ₦350,000 ticket, the airline only retains approximately ₦81,000, with the remainder being swallowed by various government agencies and regulatory fees.
Read also Market forces, not government taxes, behind December airfare hikes – NCAA
However, Achimugu reshared a past interview stating that, “Any domestic carrier operating domestic flights that says that they are paying 18 taxes is a liar. No domestic carrier pays 18 taxes for domestic flights.
“We understand the high air fares this period are down to market forces—demand and supply. Let us assume there are 18 taxes, where those taxes increased recently, so why is it different in December?”
He noted that while the NCAA does not regulate airfares, it had invited all domestic airlines to clarify the matter.
“They all admitted to not paying the volume of taxes being bandied around. I don’t understand this 350k and N81,000 narrative, but I know that, for the kind of support that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Festus Keyamo, aviation minister and Chris Najomo, the NCAA DGCA, have given to domestic carriers, I see no reason why the government keeps getting thrown under the bus via statements like this.”
Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha
Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers.
She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay.
She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos.
As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender.
She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies.
Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the
prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the ‘Aviation Writer of the Year’ Category.
She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category.
She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations.
Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.
