Local airfares soar on higher costs of jet fuel and operational costs
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Local airfares have been soaring since last year, perched at 52.44 in April 2022, and are likely to climb higher to N100,000 and above in the coming months, according to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data and airline operators.
The NBS disclosed in “Transport Fare Watch for April 2022”, its latest report, that average airfare rose 52.44 per cent from N36,406.46 in April 2021 to N55,501.49 in April 2022.
It increased from N46,810.62 in March 2022 to N55,501.49 in April 2022.
The NBS said “the average fare paid by air passengers for specified routes on single journey, increased by 18.57per cent on a month-on-month basis from N46,810.62 in March 2022 to N55,501.49 in April 2022.
“On a year-on-year basis, this rose by 52.44per cent from N36,409.46 in April 2021.”
However, airline operators and stakeholders have warned that a flight ticket may soon cost N100,00 and above because of jet fuel price hike, foreign exchange (forex) scarcity, and high operational costs.
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Transport fare categories
The NBS report covers
- Bus journey within the city per drop constant route
- Bus journey intercity, state route, charge per person
- Airfare charge for specified routes single journey
- Journey by motorcycle (Okada) per drop
- Waterway passenger transport
Average fare for bus journey intercity per drop rose 8.75 per cent from N3,270.94 in March 2022 to N3,557.15 in April 2022, according to the NBS, per The Nation.
It increased 45.38 per cent year-on-year (YoY) from N2,446.86 in April 2021.
Average fare for bus journey within the city per drop jumped 6.39 per cent month-on-month (MoM) from N536.35 in March 2022 to N570.64 in April 2022.
It rose 47.80 per cent YoY from N386.10 in April 2021.
“In another category, the average fare paid by commuters for journey by motorcycle per drop increased by 8.03 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N395.12 in March 2022 to N426.84 in April 2022,” the NBS said.
“On a year-on-year basis, the fare rose by 54.48 per cent from N276.30 in April 2021.
“In addition, the average fare paid for water transport (waterway passenger transportation) increased by 5.67 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N900.84 in March 2022 to N951.93 in April 2022.
“On a year-on-year basis, this rose by 16.06 per cent from N820.23 in April 2021.”