Most airlines operating in the domestic segment of the country’s aviation industry have increased their fares to take advantage of increased patronage during the Ramadan holidays.
This was mainly as a result of the last minute rush witnessed at the airports between Saturday and Monday.
A visit by our correspondent to the two local airport terminals in Lagos, the Murtala Muhammed Airport 2 and the General Aviation Terminal, observed significant increase in passenger traffic, which made the major airlines to increase their fares, some by as much as 50 per cent.
Investigations revealed that the major airports in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Uyo witnessed an influx of passengers from Saturday through Monday due to the two-day holidays on Monday and Tuesday declared by the Federal Government to mark the end of the Ramadan period.
Our correspondent observed that many travellers besieged the airports in a bid to re-unite with their loved ones during the holidays.
For instance, at the Lagos airport, passengers were seen struggling to get seats on the few available flights to strategic destinations, just as the fares kept rising.
An air ticket from Lagos to Kano, which usually goes for between N22,500 and N27,000 depending on the airline and time of purchase, rose to about N37,000 between Saturday and Monday morning.
Flights from Lagos to Abuja, which normally cost between N15,000 to N22,000, depending on the airline and the time of flight, had their tickets sold for as much as N30,000 on Sunday.
Most of the flights that witnessed increased fares were headed for the northern part of the country.
However, some passengers who purchased their tickets earlier were denied access on their flights and were told to pay extra for coming behind schedule.
One of the affected passengers, Mrs. Fatimoh Saliu, who was travelling to Abuja in company with her two kids, said she had purchased a ticket for the flight from Lagos last week, but got to the airport a few minutes after the first boarding call but was denied access to the plane on the excuse of being late.
She said, “I was surprised to get here only to learn that I was late; my flight was for 12.30pm, and I got here by 12.10pm because of traffic, but the airline’s officials didn’t check me in. They said I was very late.
“I had to run around to raise extra money to pay in order to be able to go with the 2.30 flight. I think it is rather unfair, because I should have still been allowed to get on the plane.”
The spokesperson for the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Mr. Yakubu Dati, had last week advised passengers willing to travel for the holidays to get to the airport on time to avoid last minute rush.
He said, “FAAN advises Nigerians, especially air travellers, to make early preparations for their travels during the forthcoming Eid-Fitr celebration to avoid the rush that usually takes place during this period at major airports across the country.
“Airports across the country usually witness a huge volume of passenger traffic during these holidays due to increased local movement of passengers for people travelling for the holidays, added to those returning from different countries overseas for the same purpose.
“The authority also urges travellers to leave home early during this period in order to confirm their tickets and complete other pre-boarding formalities in good time because of the heavy vehicular movements on access roads close to the terminals that may cause some passengers to miss their flights.”