- The NCAA has rejected claims by Air Peace CEO Allen Onyema that multiple taxes are responsible for high domestic airfares, describing the narrative as misleading.
- The aviation regulator said recent fare hikes are driven by market forces of demand and supply, not government taxes, and accused airlines of unfairly blaming the government for price increases during the festive season.
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has issued a sharp rebuttal to claims by Air Peace CEO Allen Onyema, who suggested that a “regime of multiple taxes” is responsible for the recent spike in domestic airfares.
Speaking through the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, the regulator described the “18 taxes” narrative as a “lie” and insisted that the government is being unfairly “thrown under the bus.”
The NCAA challenged the airlines to provide evidence of the alleged tax burden, noting that recent internal engagements with domestic carriers contradicted their public statements.
“Any domestic carrier operating domestic flights that says that they are paying 18 taxes is a liar. No domestic carrier pays 18 taxes for domestic flights… They all admitted to not paying the volume of taxes being bandied around.”
Achimugu questioned the logic of blaming taxes for the December surge, pointing out that statutory charges have not changed recently. He argued that if taxes were the primary driver of the ₦150,000–₦200,000 base fares, they could not explain why prices jumped to ₦500,000 during the festive season.
“We understand the high air fares this period are down to market forces—demand and supply. Let us assume there are 18 taxes, where those taxes increased recently, so why is it different in December? It is market forces. It is Nigerians on Nigerians. This is not government.”
Responding to Onyema’s claim that airlines only retain ₦81,000 from a ₦350,000 ticket, Achimugu expressed confusion over the math, reiterating that the Tinubu administration has provided “unprecedented support” to local carriers, including new reforms for dry-leasing aircraft.
“I don’t understand this 350k and 81k narrative, but I know that, for the kind of support that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu… have given to domestic carriers, I see no reason why the government keeps getting thrown under the bus via statements like this.”
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