By Our Reporter
Mr. Chris Najomo, Director General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority,
has set up a 10-man committee to look into the high airfares being charged by foreign airlines.
This was disclosed in a press statement released to journalists on Thursday by Najomo, following a two-day meeting between the NCAA and foreign airlines held at the headquarters of the agency in Abuja.
The committee, chaired by the agency’s Director of Special Duties, Horatius Egua aims to ensure foreign airlines comply with government directives to unblock low-inventory tickets that have been inaccessible for over 18 months, as well as recommend appropriate pricing of tickets in Nigeria compared to similar markets in the West African sub-region.
Other members of the committee are Michael Achimugu, Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection NCAA; Rotimi Arogunjo, General Manager, Licensing and Statistics, NCAA; Ogechi Louis-Azode, Deputy General Manager, Legal Services, NCAA; Susan Akporiaye, President, National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies; Olaoluwa Oladipupo, Assistant General Manager, Fairs and Tariffs, NCAA; David-Ojuigo, Asst. Director, FCCPC; Yinka Folami, incoming President, NANTA; and Florence Abebe, Chief Legal Officer, FCCPC, while Ifueko Abdulmalik, Senior Special Assistant, DG, NCAA, is to serve as Secretary.
Egua emphasised the need for fair pricing, saying, “This is very discriminatory in nature. We cannot continue to pay higher fares compared to other countries in the sub-region that have similar distances, using the same operating aircraft. We have the market and in some cases we have more liberal taxes? This is unacceptable and we totally reject this.
“For instance, a distance of six hours from Ghana to London may sometimes cost about $800 while similar distance with similar operating aircraft cost over $2000 in Nigeria. This is discriminatory and an unfair practice and we reject this in totality,
“In the last several months, Nigerians have been made to pay higher fares on international flights unjustly as all the foreign airlines increased their flight tickets astronomically citing the high exchange rate as well as other sundry issues and also deliberately blocked low inventory tickets making travel unbearable for Nigerians.”
The NCAA, following the outcry by Nigerians over the astronomical increase in air tickets, convened the two-day meeting with the foreign airlines operating in Nigeria.
The meeting, brought together representatives from NCAA, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies with the International Air Transport Association, who represented the foreign airlines.
Expressing concern over discriminatory practices and inflated fares, the authority expressed reservation and demanded an the immediate reversal of the trend.
Key resolutions at the meeting included the Authority, FCCPC, NANTA, and the foreign airlines who was for the reduction of ticket costs and the unconditional unblocking of lower inventory tickets to the Nigerian market.
In response to the NCAA’s directive, several international airlines, including Lufthansa German Airlines, KLM, Egypt Air, Ethiopian Airlines, British Airways, Royal Air Maroc, RwandAir, and Turkish Airlines, have released all categories of low-inventory tickets.
However, Air France has failed to comply with the directives.