Air Peace CEO, Mr. Allen Onyema, has said that Nigerians are paying the cheapest domestic airfares in the world.

Speaking in an interview with Arise news, Onyema noted that a short flight in the United States of America, such as Atlanta to Charleston, can cost over $400 for a one-hour journey.

He explained that Nigerian airlines face far higher costs due to expensive financing, lack of nearby maintenance facilities, and high costs of ferrying aircraft and engines, even though aviation costs are in dollars worldwide.

He said: “Do one way, you will get $399 for two weeks time, maybe in the morning. In the afternoon, it’s about $400 and something, but the basics is $399.

“When you multiply that by N1,500, you’re getting over N600,000.  If it’s $400, you’ll be getting almost N800,000.

“In Nigeria we still have ticket for N125,000, we have tickets for N115,000 which is less than $60.”

He also said Nigerian airlines were struggling with excessive taxes and charges, leaving them with only N81,000 from a N350,000 ticket sale.

Onyema cited the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, five percent charge as one of the multiple taxes airlines face, and asked the agency to collect it directly from passengers at the airport.

The Air Peace boss said: “Nigerian airlines are heavily overburdened by taxes, levies, and all manner of charges. Just take a ticket of about N350,000. What comes to the airlines? About N81,000.

“And everyone is talking about the airlines as if they’re making a kill. It’s not true. The government has got to look into the excessive multiple taxation. We’re suffering multiple taxation and multiple charges.

“For example, the NCAA’s five percent for every ticket, and they will tell you that it’s the passenger that is paying.

“And we, the airline industry, are saying that if it is the passenger, maybe you have to set up a desk at the airport and collect directly from the passengers.

“Because when you take five percent from what we charge, it reduces demand.

“There are so many other charges. And that does not mean you don’t pay the NCAA for whatever service they render. ICAO, the International Civil Aviation Organisation, says that you are not supposed to go into revenue generation for government.

“What you do is cost recovery. That is, you charge according to the costs of the services you render to the airlines. Not that at the end of the year, the NCAA will become the second largest donor to the country’s treasury. Who are the ones suffering it? The airlines.”

The businessman said airlines were not growing due to so many charges.

Vanguard News