Reps Move To Curtail High Airfares

House of Representatives has taken steps to curtail exorbitant airfares by international and even domestic airlines in Nigeria.

This was sequel to the adoption of the amended motion moved by Hon. Moshood Olarewaju Oshun from Lagos at plenary on Thursday.

Moving the motion, he said, in 2023, international passenger traffic has grown massively from the 3,503,692 that was recorded in 2022, and has continued to grow rapidly, especially with outbound international travellers.

The lawmaker expressed concern that international airlines are taking undue advantage of the surge in international passenger traffic to charge exorbitantly for flights and cashing out on Nigeria.

He lamented that Turkish Airlines charges as much as $3,538 (2.7million), with the lowest advertised fare being $1,432 (1.1 million) for a Lagos- London flight, whereas the same Airline charges between $475 (368,837) and $601 (466,676) for a London bound flight from Cotonou, which is a huge and unfair contrast to what people are forced to pay in Nigeria.

Oshun expressed worry that: “If strict measures are not put in place to stop the flagrant hike in flight fares by international airlines, Nigerians may no longer be able to afford international travel and even the nation’s economy would be negatively affected by such unwholesome practices.”

Also at the plenary, the House urged the federal government to commence the concession of the rail services to competent private investors.

This followed the approval of a motion on: “Need to Concession the Railway Services to include Operation and Management of the Railway System in Nigeria”, sponsored by Hon. Sada Soli (APC, Katsina).

Presenting the motion, Soli said “the performance of the Nigerian Railway Corporation has been on a continuous decline compared to contemporaries in the sector despite the huge investment to revive the rail transportation system,” he said.