For the umpteenth time, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has mentioned Nigeria as one of the most expensive countries in the world to operate an airline business.
The association cited high operational costs that continue to challenge the viability and growth of local carriers.
Speaking yesterday at the IATA Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Brazil, IATA’s Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East, Kamil Al-Awadhi, said that despite ongoing efforts by Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, to reform and improve the aviation sector, airlines in the country still face significant cost pressures.
According to Al-Awadhi, the high-cost environment has made it difficult for Nigerian airlines to remain competitive and profitable, limiting the sector’s ability to reach its full potential.
He noted that excessive taxes, charges and other operational expenses continued to burden airlines across the region, with Nigeria ranking among the most challenging markets from a cost perspective.
To address the issue, Al-Awadhi urged member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to implement the proposed 25 per cent reduction in aviation taxes and charges.
He said the measure would help lower the cost of air travel, stimulate passenger traffic, and improve the competitiveness of airlines operating within West Africa.
The Chairman of United Nigeria Airlines (UNA), Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, had recently described Nigeria as one of the most over-taxed aviation jurisdictions on the continent, a situation he said continued to drive up ticket prices and distort competition in West Africa’s airspace.
Okonkwo had lamented that the cumulative levies imposed on airlines in Nigeria far outweighed what operators face in neighbouring countries.
He said: ‘A passenger tax here in this airport is $100. In Ghana, it’s $60. I don’t know why ours should be higher.
‘Nigeria is probably one of the most taxed countries in Africa’s aviation industry. Beyond the passenger tax, there are so many deductions we make on every ticket sold. That is why fares are high’.
According to him, when all charges are aggregated, a Lagos-Accra return ticket carries about $116 in taxes alone, before the airline even prices the actual ‘flight service’ component.
He urged the government to play its part by reducing multiple taxes and creating a single-window approach to aviation finance, warning that high charges ultimately suppress economic activity.
‘If people cannot move, commerce cannot expand’, he emphasised.
