By Chinelo Obogo
For decades, Nigerian airlines have lamented a predatory operating space where high charges, taxes and levies put them at a disadvantaged position compared to their foreign competitors who enjoy greater support from their host countries.
This, they said, grossly erodes their profitability and perpetually leaves them vulnerable and flying on strained wings.
The complaints have intensified in recent months, drawing the attention of international aviation bodies and prompting responses from the airport authority.
At the heart of the debate is whether the charges imposed on Nigerian airlines are genuinely excessive, as operators claim, or a necessary measure to address decades of underinvestment in the country’s aviation infrastructure.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has spoken in support of the airlines. At its Focus Africa Conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, IATA called on African governments to prioritise aviation as a strategic enabler of economic and social development, urging them to pursue a comprehensive aviation strategy built around safety, cost-competitiveness, energy security, sustainability, and ease of doing business. IATA’s Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East, Kamil Alawadhi, said: “Aviation is economic infrastructure for Africa. Its value lies in the long-term benefits it delivers. An aviation strategy focused on safety, cost-competitiveness, energy security/sustainability, and ease of doing business will create jobs, enable trade, support tourism, and further regional integration. The prosperity this generates will allow governments to push forward social and economic development more durably than any tax that might be collected from travelers.”
The aviation body also presented its findings showing that the cost of doing aviation business in Africa is roughly 15% higher than the global average, with Nigeria identified as one of the contributors to this, including Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, and Kenya. The association criticised the governments of these countries for profiting from API-PNR charges in ways it said contravenes the International Civil Aviation Organisation Standards and Recommended Practices, distort ticket pricing, and undermine regional connectivity. IATA also called on governments to implement a December 2025 ECOWAS decision to eliminate aviation taxes and reduce charges by 25%, saying that implementation at the national level is very critical.
Within Nigeria’s own aviation sector, these sentiments have been repeatedly re-echoed rather loudly. For instance, during the inaugural flight of United Nigeria Airlines to Accra, Ghana in the fourth quarter of last year, the airline’s founder Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, who also serves as spokesperson of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), said multiple charges are suffocating domestic airlines and called on the Federal Government to intervene before they are taxed to death. Okonkwo lamented that the situation is worsened by airlines having to pay for every government service, from inspections to certification renewals.
At the 2025 Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) National Aviation Conference held in Lagos with theme: “Elevating the Nigerian Aviation Industry Through Investment, Partnership and Global Engagements”, the Managing Director of Ibom Air, George Uriesi, delivered a paper titled “Airline Profitability and Cost Optimisation” in which he gave a graphic picture of the extent of the problem airlines are facing. Uriesi said that without a reduction in the number of charges, domestic airlines will not be profitable and will keep folding up. He acknowledged that the Federal Government had made some efforts, including waiving import tariffs on aircraft parts, but said that Nigerian airlines still pay twice the insurance cost compared to their international peers despite using the same equipment type. He cited the Lagos–Accra route as an illustration, saying that before an airline can even set a ticket price on that route, it already faces $185 in taxes.
Adding their voice to the issue, the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) in January this year, revealed that it has written to the headquarters of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), demanding an explanation for the delay in implementing the promised 25% reduction in airline charges. The association expressed concern that the postponement is creating uncertainty for carriers and impeding operational planning for 2026. During AFRAA’s January Edition of its Virtual Industry Affairs Briefing, the organisation also issued a directive to member airlines to immediately report any plans by their respective countries to increase taxes, charges and fees. AFRAA revealed that information on the implementation of the charge reduction remains “sketchy,” with airlines still awaiting guidance after the measures were scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026.
The government, however, has pushed back against what it sees as an ‘oversimplified narrative.’ The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Henry Agbebire, responded to IATA’s criticism in an opinion piece titled “The Truth Behind ‘High Aviation Charges’: Why Nigeria Must Be Judged Fairly,” in which he challenged the framing of Africa as expensive, Nigeria as difficult, and airlines as victims.
Agbebire, who did not dispute the entire critique, argued that IATA had failed to account for the Nigerian reality and why those charges exist. He pointed out that many tariff adjustments are tied directly to infrastructure modernisation and safety upgrades, and that Nigeria’s aviation pricing structure had for years fallen short of what was needed.
He also argued that blaming government charges alone ignores other costs including jet fuel prices that surged by over 270–300% within months and foreign exchange constraints. He added that airlines cannot demand lower charges, better infrastructure, higher safety standards, and global compliance without acknowledging that these require massive capital investment.
He said the debate should not be framed as, ‘Are Nigeria’s charges high?’ Instead, it should be, ‘Are Nigeria’s charges justified by the value they enable?’ He said if higher charges fund safer airports, modern infrastructure, improved passenger experience, and global compliance, then they are not merely costs; they are investments.” He called for a balanced approach which reduces inefficiencies and duplicative charges, improves transparency and cost accountability, sustains infrastructure investment, and engages airlines as partners rather than adversaries.
“IATA itself acknowledges that this problem is not uniquely Nigerian. It is a symptom of continental reality. Other African countries, namely: Angola, Ghana, Kenya, and DRC are similarly classified. Africa’s entire aviation ecosystem carries a structural cost premium. This suggests a systemic issue, comprising fragmented markets, low passenger volumes, infrastructure deficits, and high financing costs.
“IATA’s advocacy is understandable; it represents airlines. But policymakers must take a broader view. Aviation is not just about airline margins; it is about national connectivity, economic growth, tourism, trade, and sovereignty. Nigeria must, therefore, pursue a balanced doctrine. It must reduce inefficiencies and duplicative charges. It must improve transparency and cost accountability. It must sustain infrastructure investment. Ultimately, it must engage airlines as partners, not adversaries.
“It may be humbling to admit on the one hand that the label “above global average” is technically correct, but on the other hand, it is strategically incomplete. Nigeria is not overcharging for the sake of revenue. It is recalibrating an industry long held back by underinvestment, macroeconomic instability, and structural inefficiencies. The real story is not that Nigeria is expensive. The real story is that Nigeria is paying the price of transformation. And in aviation, as in all infrastructure, you either pay now, or you pay later. Nigeria has chosen to pay now,” he said.
Speaking on how the issue can be handled, a former Vice President at Arik Air and Africa Representative for Moov AG, Lanre Bamgbose, told Daily Sun that continuing to argue about whether charges are “too high” or “not enough” will not yield anything. Bamgbose proposed a joint audit of all aviation-related charges, taxes, regulatory fees, and service charges, which he said will separate perception from reality and create a ‘single, trusted baseline’ with the government. He also called for a consolidation of multiple levies into fewer, transparent, cost-reflective charges, a step he said would reduce inefficiency without necessarily reducing government revenue. He cited the approach by the Minister of Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, while he was still heading the Federal Government’s tax reform initiative, describing the first necessary step as one of establishing the facts.
“We should all agree as a country to reposition aviation as an economic catalyst, not a revenue extraction point as it is currently positioned. I am not saying costs should not be recovered or that we commence another regime of subsidy leading nowhere. But we must minimise sectoral tax burdens to grow traffic, invest in infrastructure upgrades as it is being done currently in Lagos and other airports by the FG. Revisit and unlock tourism and trade potentials (state governments need to work with the private sector, otherwise we won’t achieve much here). The result will be a much larger economic base from which the government ultimately earns more.
“Any relief must be tied to accountability, better financial and governance transparency, operational efficiency, and measurable performance by airlines, airport administration, handling companies, jet fuel suppliers and all stakeholders. We must adopt a pro-growth aviation policy. That’s how we move from recurring disputes to a system where both airlines, government and all stakeholders win,” he said.
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