Nigeria’s consumer protection agency has found evidence that domestic airlines artificially inflated ticket prices during the Christmas and New Year travel season, with some fares rising by as much as ₦405,000 above post-holiday levels on certain routes.
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) revealed the findings through its Director of Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu, following a forensic pricing review carried out by its Department of Surveillance and Investigations. The probe was launched in January 2026 after a wave of public complaints over steep airfare hikes during the December 2025 festive period.
The Commission’s interim report found that fares surged sharply across multiple routes during the holiday window, even though key cost factors — including aviation fuel prices, government charges, and foreign exchange rates — remained largely stable. The FCCPC concluded that the price spikes appeared to stem from airlines’ own decisions around seat availability and capacity management, rather than any genuine increase in operating costs.
The report noted a particularly striking pattern on high-traffic corridors like Abuja to Port Harcourt, where peak-season fares were several times higher than prices recorded after the holiday rush subsided. Investigators also observed that multiple carriers on the same routes clustered their peak fares within suspiciously similar price bands, raising concerns about coordinated pricing behaviour.
The FCCPC stopped short of a final ruling, acknowledging that seasonal demand surges, scheduling constraints, and fleet limitations can legitimately affect airline pricing. Those factors, the Commission said, remain under review.
FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman Tunji Bello stressed that the agency’s goal is not to interfere with normal business operations, but to ensure airline pricing practices remain consistent with competition law and consumer protection standards.
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