In mid-February, passengers in the aviation sector complained bitterly that airfares had been increased by a minimum of 100%, with a one-way economy ticket selling at over ₦50,000.

That came barely less than 10 days after the airline operators in Nigeria had warned that the skyrocketing price of aviation fuel by over 100% to about ₦400 per litre within a year, would lead to an increase in the price of tickets in order to sustain their operations.

Reports, before the airfare increase, suggested that the price of aviation fuel increased to between ₦420 to ₦450 per litre depending on the city, as against the ₦400 per litre it was, without prior notice to the airlines, with a prediction that it could rise to ₦500 per litre after then.

The airline operators under the aegis of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), in a statement, listed some of the operational challenges causing flight delays and cancellations to include unavailability of aviation fuel (Jet A1), the ever-rising cost of aviation fuel and unavailability of forex for spare parts and maintenance.

Others are delays from customs in the clearing of safety-critical spare parts, poor air traffic flow and inadequate check-in counters.

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The AON said, “Jet A1 today costs above ₦410 in Lagos, ₦422 in Abuja and Port Harcourt, and ₦429 in Kano per litre and has continued to rise fast and steadily. On top of the continuous rise in the fuel price, fuel supply is at best epileptic at several airports thereby causing delays.”

Some of the airlines with increased base rates in their airfare include Azman Air, Max Air, Ibom Air, Arik Air, Air Peace and Dana Air, for flights to Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri routes.

But, there may be a respite for air passengers as the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has issued an interim order prohibiting the sudden hike in the price of airfares by domestic airlines.

In a statement Wednesday, Babatunde Irukera, executive vice-chairman of FCCPC, said the order would remain in place pending the outcome of its investigation into the matter.

Nigerian airlines had recently increased the cost of economy flight tickets for domestic routes from about ₦35,000 to a base fare of ₦50,000.

The FCCPC attributed the action of the carriers to price-fixing, saying detailed investigations by the commission showed that the airlines’ move was “coordinated”.

It reminded the airlines that the FCCPA Act 2018 prohibits conduct or any coordination between competitors including on the platform of trade associations.

“Specifically, Section 107 (1)(a) forbids competitors from fixing prices, and Section 108 prohibits any conspiracy, combination, agreement or arrangement between competitors in any manner that unduly restrains or injures competition,” the statement reads.

The commission added that coordination in increasing prices (otherwise known as a cartel) is an unambiguous infringement of the FCCPA.

It further stated that the current and prevailing “Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (Air Transport Economic Regulations) in Regulation 18.15.2 (i) and (iii) expressly prohibits airlines from engaging in any contract, arrangement, understanding, conspiracy or combination in restraint of competition which includes directly or indirectly fixing a charge, fee, rate, fare or tariff and any collusive action”.

The bottom line here is that the fares were increased due to the hike in aviation fuel and the slide in the foreign exchange rate. The way forward should be a conversation with the actors in the aviation sector to chart a way forward.