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The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has dismissed claims that government taxes caused the sharp rise in domestic airfares recorded in December.
Michael Achimugu, the NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, addressed the issue in a post on his X account on Sunday, stating that market forces alone drove the increase.
He said higher passenger demand during the festive season pushed up fares, especially on busy routes, and described the trend as a yearly occurrence linked to increased December travel.
Achimugu noted that similar price rises occur across other sectors at the same time, including road transport, hotels, and food services.
He stressed that taxes did not increase in December and maintained that airfares typically fall after the second week of January.
According to him, the Authority does not regulate ticket prices, and investigations with domestic airlines show that operators do not pay the volume of taxes often cited publicly.
The NCAA’s response followed comments by Air Peace chief executive Allen Onyema, who argued that Nigerian domestic fares rank among the cheapest globally and claimed airlines retain only about ₦81,000 from a ₦350,000 ticket after taxes and charges.
However, the Authority rejected suggestions that excessive taxes and charges forced airlines to raise fares during the yuletide season. Achimugu insisted that no domestic airline pays up to 18 different taxes, describing such claims as misleading.
He also questioned why ticket prices climbed to as much as ₦500,000 for flights lasting under an hour when neither taxes nor jet fuel prices increased during the period.
Achimugu said repeated efforts to blame the government ignore what he described as unprecedented support for domestic airlines, including recent reforms allowing access to dry-leased aircraft.
He added that discussions with airline staff, travel agents, and NCAA departments do not support claims that taxes triggered the December fare hike.
