Christmas Travel: Domestic Airfares Top ₦330,000 on Selected Routes

• Domestic airfares for December travel have exceeded ₦330,000 on selected routes, with one Lagos–Asaba fare more than three times its November equivalent.

Nigerians planning to fly home for Christmas face higher travel costs, with one-way economy fares exceeding ₦330,000 on selected routes linking Lagos and Abuja to the South-East and South-South.

Published checks of airline booking platforms show substantial differences between fares for November departures and those scheduled close to Christmas.

On Aero Contractors’ Lagos–Asaba service, a ticket for November 9 was listed at ₦106,286, compared with ₦327,940 for December 20. The difference represents an increase of approximately 209 per cent.

Air Peace’s Lagos–Asaba economy ticket was listed at ₦118,400 for November 9 and ₦337,500 for December 21. Its business-class fare for the December journey stood at ₦432,700.

On the Abuja–Enugu route, Air Peace’s reported economy fares ranged from ₦116,400 for the November comparison to ₦335,500 for the festive period.

The price differences were smaller on some other routes.

Ibom Air’s Lagos–Uyo economy fare was listed at ₦143,200 for November 9, against ₦200,300 for December 21—a difference of about 40 per cent.

United Nigeria Airlines’ Lagos–Benin fare stood at ₦120,000 for November 9 and ₦310,500 for December 21, approximately 159 per cent higher.

For Aero Contractors’ Abuja–Benin service, the comparison was ₦117,627 for November 10 and ₦196,522 for December 21, an increase of about 67 per cent.

The comparisons concern different departure dates and selected services. They do not establish a uniform 200 per cent increase across Nigeria’s domestic aviation market.

For passengers travelling with relatives, the higher December fares mean a larger household travel bill before return journeys and other expenses are included.

The quoted amounts are prices reported from booking-platform checks, rather than guaranteed fares available to every passenger. Travellers will need to confirm the applicable price and ticket conditions for their chosen departure.