By Anthony Otaru, Abuja
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has indicted domestic airlines for manipulating ticket prices during the December 2025 festive season, confirming long-standing complaints by Nigerian travellers who accused operators of exploiting peak travel periods to impose excessive fares.
The Commission, in an interim report released Thursday, said its forensic review uncovered pricing patterns that changes in key cost components such as aviation fuel, foreign exchange, or regulatory charges could not justify.
The findings, announced by the FCCPC Director of Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu, followed an industry-wide investigation launched in January in response to widespread public outrage over unusually high fares on major domestic routes during the Christmas and New Year holidays.
For years, Nigerian air travellers have complained about sharp fare increases during festive periods, with ticket prices sometimes rising beyond the reach of average citizens and forcing many to either cancel trips or endure long road journeys despite security risks.
According to the FCCPC, its investigation relied on extensive data obtained directly from domestic airlines and compared ticket prices during the December festive peak with those charged in January 2026, after demand subsided.
The Commission stated, “The forensic exercise benefited from data collated by the Commission from airlines operating local routes in the country.
“The report compares domestic airline pricing from the December 2025 festive period with post-peak January 2026 fare levels.
“Preliminary analysis indicates that fares recorded during the December peak were materially higher than those observed in the post-peak period across several routes despite relative stability in critical operating variables like fuel price, government taxes, and foreign exchange.
“The differences observed in fares therefore appear to reflect airlines’ arbitrary pricing decisions, including yield management and capacity allocation, rather than any variation in regulatory fees.”
*Nigerians paid multiples for same routes, report shows
The Commission said its route-by-route examination revealed that airlines raised fares sharply as seat availability declined, suggesting deliberate capacity management during predictable periods of high demand.
“Route-level analysis shows that higher fares coincided with periods of reduced seat availability during predictable seasonal demand peaks. On some high-density routes, peak fares were clustered within relatively narrow ranges across several operators.
“For instance, on certain corridors like Abuja-Port Harcourt, peak fares were several times higher than corresponding post-peak levels. On selected routes, the price difference for a single ticket reached approximately ₦405,000. Median fares across the sampled routes also rose markedly during the festive window when compared with post-peak benchmarks.”
The findings validate public frustration among Nigerians, many of whom took to social media during the festive period to protest what they described as “exploitative” and “unjustifiable” airfares, particularly on popular routes such as Lagos-Abuja, Abuja-Port Harcourt and Lagos-Owerri.
However, the Commission noted that certain operational realities, including high passenger demand, aircraft scheduling limitations, and fleet utilisation, may also influence fare levels.
“However, the interim report recognises that seasonal demand pressures, scheduling constraints and fleet utilisation may also affect pricing during peak travel periods.
“These factors remain under consideration as part of the Commission’s ongoing review.”
FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Tunji Bello, said the investigation was part of the agency’s legal responsibility to ensure fair competition and protect Nigerian consumers from exploitative market practices.
“The review is part of the Commission’s statutory responsibility to promote competitive markets and safeguard consumers.
“This assessment is intended to provide clarity on pricing behaviour during predictable peak travel periods. The Commission’s role is not to disrupt legitimate commercial activity, but to ensure that market outcomes remain consistent with competition and consumer protection principles under the law.”
He stressed that the current report remains preliminary and that the Commission will take further action based on its final findings.
“It is important to emphasise that this is an interim report. Our next action will be dictated by the full facts established at the end of the review exercise. Then, the Commission will decide whether any regulatory guidance, engagement or enforcement steps are necessary, strictly in accordance with the law,” he said.
The report also referenced several provisions of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018, including those prohibiting price-fixing, abuse of market dominance, anti-competitive agreements, and unfair contractual practices, raising the possibility of regulatory sanctions if violations are confirmed.
*Foreign airlines next as fare exploitation complaints rise
Meanwhile, Bello disclosed that foreign airlines would be the next focus of the Commission’s investigation, following persistent complaints that international carriers charge Nigerians significantly higher fares than passengers travelling similar distances from neighbouring countries.
The planned probe comes amid growing concerns that Nigerian travellers may be facing systemic pricing discrimination both on domestic and international routes, further worsening the cost burden on citizens already grappling with economic hardship.
