The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has opened an investigation into what it described as an “outrageous” increase in airfares by domestic airline operators as the yuletide season approaches.
The commission said the sudden rise in ticket prices appears exploitative, especially for passengers travelling on South-East and South-South routes, where fares have climbed sharply in recent days.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Director of Corporate Affairs at FCCPC, Ondaje Ijagwu, said the commission has expanded an existing investigation to examine the pricing models used by some airlines on selected domestic routes.
“Concerns have been expressed widely in the past few days over what appears to be coordinated manipulation or exploitation in the pricing of airline tickets by some airline operators on certain routes, especially in the South-East and South-South, as the festive season begins,” Ijagwu said.
He explained that the investigation is aimed at determining whether the recent fare increases violate provisions of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act.
Ijagwu recalled that earlier in the year, Air Peace went to court to stop the commission from probing its pricing system after public complaints, stressing that the current investigation is “without prejudice” to that legal case.
Also speaking, the Executive Vice Chairman of FCCPC, Tunji Bello, said the commission would not ignore signs of consumer exploitation, even though it is not a price control agency.
“Although FCCPC is not a price control board, the FCCPA 2018 empowers the commission to check the exploitation of consumers. When we receive petitions or find credible evidence, we will not stand by and watch Nigerian consumers being exploited under any guise,” Bello said.
He added that the law allows the commission to monitor economic activities and investigate practices that harm consumers or weaken competition.
“Fair pricing is a core objective of the FCCPA. The Act protects consumers from excessive, opaque, misleading, or collusive pricing practices while promoting competitive markets,” he said.
Bello noted that the commission is reviewing pricing patterns, the basis for the fare increases, and any conduct that may undermine fair competition, warning that sanctions would follow if violations are confirmed.
The investigation comes amid widespread complaints from travellers and lawmakers over the cost of domestic flights.
At a recent Senate plenary, Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi of Ebonyi North expressed shock over ticket prices from Abuja to Enugu.
“I called my personal assistant to get the ticket for me. Shockingly, the cost for a one-way ticket is N500,000 with Air Peace and N460,000 for Ibom Air. This is unheard of,” he said.
Senator Adamu Aliero said he would need almost N700,000 to fly to Kebbi, describing the fare as unaffordable, while Senator Abdulfatai Buhari said Abuja to Lagos tickets now range between N400,000 and N650,000.
On social media, passengers also voiced anger. A user, Kokopee, questioned the situation, saying, “Are these airlines the ones sponsoring banditry and kidnapping to make our roads unsafe so they can cash out?”
Another passenger, FS Yusuf, reacting to a Lagos–Owerri fare of nearly N500,000, said, “This is pure wickedness and so unfair. How can a flight of less than one hour be N500,000?”
Meanwhile, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, had said the Federal Government cannot fix ticket prices for private airlines. However, some stakeholders argue that government involvement through taxes and charges makes it possible to influence airfare costs.
FCCPC said it will continue to update the public as the investigation into airline pricing progresses.
