Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, says the sharp rise in domestic airfares is driven by aircraft scarcity and limited maintenance capacity, not government policy.
Speaking with reporters after Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, Keyamo said the federal government has no legal authority to set or cap ticket prices, noting that the aviation sector has been deregulated since the Babangida era.
“Government has absolutely no powers to fix prices for private enterprises. That is what deregulation means,” he said.
“But that does not mean we are leaving the airlines without engagement.”
Keyamo was expected at a Senate session on the issue but said he could not attend because of the FEC meeting.
He added that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and airline operators represented him.
The minister listed several factors pushing fares higher, including limited aircraft availability, expensive leasing arrangements, lack of domestic maintenance infrastructure, and the foreign exchange costs required for overseas safety checks.
He, however, described a new development as a turning point for the industry: the return of a major international aircraft lessor to the Nigerian market for the first time in nearly 20 years.
According to him, a local airline recently secured a dry lease at one-third of previous rates.
“With cheaper dry leases coming in, more airlines will have access to aircraft. More aircraft automatically means stronger competition. And competition is what brings prices down in any free economy,” he said.
Keyamo said fare reductions should become more visible as new aircraft join local fleets.
The minister also announced that FEC has approved several upgrades to airport infrastructure, including advanced surface movement guidance systems for Lagos and Abuja, modular control towers in eight airports, and communication system upgrades in nine others.
He added that the government will install biometric-enabled electronic gates at all international airports to speed up passenger processing.
Keyamo said the measures align with President Bola Tinubu’s directive to modernize the aviation sector and improve safety and efficiency nationwide.
