Some one-way economy fares from Lagos to Nigeria’s South-East have been listed above ₦300,000 ahead of Christmas, raising the cost of seasonal trips for families, according to reports by BusinessDay and Legit.ng.
BusinessDay said its booking-engine checks found one-way economy fares from Lagos to Enugu and Anambra at ₦325,000 to ₦395,000 for Dec. 20-24. It also reported some fares above ₦300,000 on Lagos routes from Dec. 19-31, compared with off-peak prices of ₦105,000 to ₦135,000 earlier in the year.
Flightpadi data cited by Legit.ng put a Lagos-Enugu fare at ₦104,000 for Dec. 11, then showed fares of ₦327,500 and ₦394,000 for Dec. 17 from different airlines. Based on those reported amounts, the later listings were about 215% and 279% higher than the Dec. 11 fare. Legit.ng said Flightpadi compiled the figures from more than 3,500 customer searches between Sept. 1 and Oct. 9, with the peak period defined as Dec. 15 to Jan. 4. The fare listings are snapshots and may change.
Other routes showed smaller gaps in Legit.ng’s account of Flightpadi data. It reported peak-period fares of ₦151,000 for Enugu to Lagos, against ₦121,000 in a normal week, and ₦139,000 for Port Harcourt to Abuja, compared with ₦117,000.
The higher costs fall on travelers paying to reach family and community gatherings. BusinessDay quoted Nigerian businessman Okechukwu Kelechi, who said one-way economy tickets for him, his wife and three children to Port Harcourt cost more than ₦1.7 million.
BusinessDay connected seasonal demand to families returning to the South-East and community events. Olumide Ohunayo, research director at Zenith Travels, told the newspaper that aircraft are scarce and some airports in the South-East and South-South close overnight, limiting airlines’ room to expand service. BusinessDay also quoted aviation security expert John Ojikutu as saying election-campaign preparations are increasing competition for aircraft from private charter operators.
