Airfares stable despite Sallah celebrations
By Airfares from Lagos to Northern Nigeria routes such as Kano, Kaduna, Maiduguri and Abuja have remained stable despite the sallah celebrations.
However, BusinessDay investigations reveal that there is increasing load factor on major routes on account of the long public holidays and celebrations associated with the Muslim festivity.
When our correspondent visited the Murtala Muhammed local Airport yesterday, it was discovered that airfares for a one-way trip which cost between N28,000 to N32,000 two weeks ago, still remained at the same range, on the Lagos-Abuja, Kaduna, Kano and Maiduguri routes, depending on the airline.
Bernard Bankole, President of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) told BusinessDay that there was an increase in the number of passengers travelling for Sallah but prices remained the same.
“The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) regulates the prices for tickets. Airlines cannot just increase air fares unless there is a cogent reason for that,” Bankole added.
A travel agent who craved anonymity told BusinessDay that “as I speak to you, the load factors to these locations are almost full for tomorrow and next tomorrow. Nigerians are resilient and love to travel just to celebrate with their loved ones.
“Airlines usually leverage festive periods like Sallah to make up for their lost revenues during non-festive periods but this time, prices of tickets are surprisingly stable,” the travel agent added.
In the same vein, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has assured all airport users that her network of airports across the country are fully ready to receive arriving and departing passengers during the Eid-El-Mubarak celebration.
In a statement sent to the media by Yakubu Henrietta, general manager, Corporate Affairs, FAAN said, “In line with our core mandate of ensuring seamless facilitation of air travellers, FAAN has put in place all necessary facilities and infrastructure to ensure safe passage and a delightful experience at all airports in Nigeria.
“We advise all our esteemed passengers and airport users to always get to the airports early enough as we envisage a surge in traffic.
“This will enable them to complete their check-in formalities in good time and prevent the embarrassment of missing flights, we will also like to remind all airport users that our airports are now cashless as all payments to the Authority should now be done electronically.”
Yakubu said FAAN is committed to her core values of safety, security and comfort.
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