The Senate has called Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, and other important industry players for an urgent meeting in order to mitigate the impact on air travelers, as a result of public outrage over soaring domestic airfares in Nigeria.
We specifically asked Keyamo, airline operators, regulators, and other industry stakeholders to appear before the upper legislative chamber’s Committee on Aviation this week in order to explain the causes of the skyrocketing fares and to map out a quick course for stabilizing them prior to the Yuletide travel rush.
The Senate’s resolution came after Senator AbdulFatai Buhari (APC Oyo North) made a motion during Tuesday’s plenary under a matter of urgent national importance, warning that the abrupt increase in airfares poses a serious threat to mobility and could cause travel disruptions across the country in the coming days.
A one-way ticket from Abuja to Lagos now costs between N400,000 and N600,000, which many citizens can no longer afford, Buhari said during the motion’s presentation.
He pointed out that Nigerians who travel by air have been greatly inconvenienced by the situation, claiming that increased insecurity in the nation is forcing them to give up using roads and railroads.
“We must ask our airline agencies’ stakeholders to engage and examine the problems. Before the holiday season, immediate action must be taken, the congressman stated.
Senator Solomon Adeola (APC Ogun West), who contributed to the motion, stated that airline operators should be held responsible for the price increases as they have previously received a number of concessions, especially with regard to the cost of spare parts.
According to Senator Adamu Aliero (APC Kebbi Central), the abrupt increase in airfares necessitated the invitation of the minister and other relevant parties in order to find a solution.
Additionally, Senator Onyekachi Nwebonyi (APC Ebonyi North) asked for the creation of a national carrier while calling the 400 percent increase unacceptable and for the Aviation Minister to step up.
However, a number of senators vehemently disagreed with Senator Orji Kalu’s (APC Abia North) justification of the airfare rises, citing growing operating expenses and the skyrocketing cost of spare parts.
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