In about two years, 42 domestic aircraft have been grounded primarily due to a lack of foreign exchange to keep the airplanes flying or stringent regulatory actions in the country’s aviation sector, The PUNCH reports.
Findings showed that as of 2022, the number of aircraft plying domestic routes in Nigeria was 107. However, the challenges of forex and tough regulatory verdicts reduced this number to about 65, a 39 per cent plunge.
The crash in the number of operational domestic aircraft, among other industry challenges, contributed immensely to the very high airfares on local routes in the country, operators explained.
Checks by our correspondents showed that the average price for a one-way ticket to any destination has surged by approximately 180 per cent to over N150,000 in one year.
The average price of a one-way trip from Lagos to Abuja is now about N143,000, as against less than N51,000 that it was sold early last year, indicating a 180.4 per cent increase in price.
On the Abuja to Port Harcourt route, the average price of a flight ticket is N143,000 jumping from N45,000 in the corresponding period of 2023.
Similarly, a one-way trip ticket from Abuja to Enugu, which used to be N90,000 in 2023, now costs about N152,000 depending on the date chosen and how short the booking notice is.
This came as airline operators told our correspondents that they could not retrieve their planes which had gone on checks at different maintenance organisations outside the country over the non-availability of forex to pay for services and spare parts. Transactions regarding aircraft maintenance are largely done in foreign currencies.
This has caused a shortage of available aircraft amid the increasing number of air travellers in the country. The reduced number of aircraft has prompted a hike in airfares, making passengers lament.
Stakeholders called on the Federal Government to ease foreign exchange scarcity to prevent the further collapse of businesses in the sector.
