The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has urged Air France-KLM to reduce ticket prices for Nigerian travellers to make air travel more accessible and affordable.
This request was presented during a meeting with the Air France-KLM delegation, which included Country Manager Christine Quantin, Key Account Manager of the Commercial Division Antonia Umunna, and Deputy Station Manager Damilola Ogunseye.
The details of this meeting were captured in a statement released by Mr. Tunde Moshood, the Minister’s Special Adviser on Media and Communications, in Lagos on Monday.
Keyamo emphasized his administration’s open-door policy and collaboration with airlines to improve travel access, urging Air France-KLM to match their Nigerian ticket prices with those in neighbouring regions for competitive pricing.
The Air France-KLM team praised Minister Keyamo’s successful fund repatriation efforts, which reflect his commitment to resolving challenges in Nigeria’s aviation sector. They commended his role in improving collaboration with aviation regulatory agencies and lauded the upgraded facilities at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, particularly wing E.
Additionally, Air France-KLM announced the introduction of their new Airbus A330/A350 aircraft, reinforcing their commitment to upgrade air travel in Nigeria with state-of-the-art services to enhance the flight experience for Nigerian travelers.
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What you should know
- For an extended period of time, foreign airlines stopped offering low-priced tickets on Nigerian routes after millions of dollars in ticket revenue became trapped within the country, resulting in significantly higher fares for Nigerian travelers compared to neighboring countries.
- In March 2024, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) addressed this issue by clearing the backlog of unremitted ticket revenues, an effort highlighted by Minister of Aviation Keyamo.
- Despite the CBN’s efforts, the reduction in fares charged to Nigerian travelers by these airlines was not substantial, leading the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to establish a committee to tackle the high international airfare costs. This committee was charged with analyzing all factors affecting airfare prices and finding ways to lower them.
- Following the committee’s recommendations and subsequent negotiations, the NCAA reported a major breakthrough: most international airlines agreed to reduce their ticket prices for Nigerian travelers.
- The most significant reduction came on the Lagos-London route when Air Peace introduced fares much lower than those of foreign airlines, which in turn forced these airlines to lower their prices even further. Air Peace Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Allen Onyema described this tactic as an attempt by foreign airlines to drive Air Peace out of business, accusing them of pricing tickets below their break-even points.
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