Concerns As Domestic Airfares Shoot Up By 95% In 12 Months – NBS

Recent data by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has raised concerns as it projected average domestic airfare paid by passengers to have hiked by 94.78 per cent in the past 12 months.

The airfare shoot-up within the period under review is unconnected with various challenges facing the local aviation industry, Naija News understands.

In a new report titled, “Transport Fare Watch (January 2023),” the NBS explained that airfares recorded a 0.16 per cent increase when gauged on a month-on-month basis.

The local airfares rose from an average of N74,586.49 in December 2022 to N74,702.70 in January 2023.

According to the data, based on a year-on-year, the fare rose by 94.78 per cent from N38,352.19 in January 2022.

Also, the report showed that the average fare paid by commuters for bus journeys within the city per drop increased by 0.94 per cent in January 2023 on a month-on-month from N644.66 in December 2022 to N650.70.

While on a year-on-year, the average fare paid by commuters for bus journeys within the city per drop rose by 36.59 per cent from N476.39 in January 2022.

In another category, it was observed that the average fare paid by commuters for bus journey intercity per drop rose to ₦3,998.42 in January 2023, indicating an increase of 0.68 per cent on a month-on-month compared to the value of ₦3,971.22 in December 2022.

“On a year-on-year, the fare prices rose by 42.73% from N2801.34 in January 2022,” NBS noted in its report.

It gave a further breakdown, noting that the average transport fare paid via commercial motorcycle was N466.25 in January 2023. This was 1.04 per cent higher than the rate recorded in December 2022 (N461.45) on a month-on-month basis. While on a year-on-year, the fare rose by 36.75 per cent when compared with January 2021 (N340.94).

Whereas the average fare paid for water transport (waterway passenger transportation) in January 2023 increased to ₦1,032.84.

This shows an increase of 16.28 per cent on a year-on-year basis from N888.24 recorded in January 2022 and 0.40 per cent on a month-on-month from N 1,028.73 recorded in December 2022.