With less than one week to Christmas and two weeks to New Year celebrations, airfare on the South East routes has hit the roof, as return tickets sell for over N700,000.
Visits to the websites of Air Peace, United Nigeria Airline, Ibom Air, Arik and Aero Contractor showed that ticket fares to the Southeast states were extremely high.
The affected states are Anambra, Enugu, Owerri, and Port Harcourt in the South South region of Nigeria.
The above-mentioned routes are expensive because they are predominantly Christian states, where the Yuletide season is well celebrated by travellers who return home to be with their kinsmen and families.
Also, due to insecurity and fear of being kidnapped or attacked, passengers see air travel as the safest means of reuniting with their loved ones during yuletide.
However, while the airfares on the other routes are relatively low, the South East routes, which will experience heavier traffic, are high and outrightly out of reach of most.
For instance, a return ticket on United Nigerian Airline from Lagos to Anambra goes for N700,000, while Abuja to Owerri flight on the same airline goes for N550,000.
The Outbound Lagos-Enugu route on 26 December costs N400,000, while a return inbound Lagos route on Friday 3rd January costs N95,000.
On December 24, one-way tickets on United Nigeria Airline from Lagos to Port Harcourt will cost N200,000, while one-way tickets from Lagos to Owerri are already sold out from December 20th to December 31st, 2024.
However, an Air Peace Airlines flight to Anambra State during this period costs N672,900. On the airline’s website, passengers are to pay N285,800 for Lagos to Anambra, while it is N387,100 for the return leg.
On the same Air Peace, a return ticket for Lagos-Enugu goes for N571,600 while Lagos-Imo goes for N666,900.
A one-way ticket on Ibom Air from Lagos to Uyo costs N152,700, a relatively low price compared to the South East routes.
Experts have argued that the high prices on the Southeast routes are expected, as demand for seats is high. This spike in airfares has led many passengers to seek more affordable alternatives.
Checks reveal that the high airfares have prompted travellers on the Anambra, Owerri, and Enugu routes to switch from air travel to road transportation.
Despite rising fuel prices affecting road transport as well, many travellers prefer buses or shared vehicles due to their lower costs and greater availability.
