The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has launched an investigation into sharp airfare increases on domestic routes serving Nigeria’s South-East and South-South regions as the Christmas travel period begins.
The commission said on Friday it is examining pricing templates used by airlines on the affected routes to determine whether they violate consumer protection or competition laws.
Ondaje Ijagwu, FCCPC director of corporate affairs, said the probe follows public complaints over what appears to be coordinated or exploitative pricing on routes linking the South-East and South-South to other parts of the country.
The commission said it is expanding an existing investigation into airline pricing practices to cover the festive season surge.
“Concerns have been expressed widely in the past few days over what appears to be coordinated manipulation or exploitation in the pricing of airline tickets by some airlines on certain routes, especially in the South-East and South-South, as the festive season begins,” the statement said.
FCCPC chief executive Tunji Bello said the agency would act where evidence shows consumers are being exploited.
The commission clarified it is not a price control body but has authority under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018 to intervene where pricing practices undermine consumer welfare or fair competition.
The statement referenced a pending court case brought by Air Peace seeking to restrain the FCCPC from examining its pricing mechanisms after an earlier investigation this year.
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The commission said the current inquiry proceeds without prejudice to that case.
Citing sections 17(b) and 17(e) of the FCCPA, the agency said it has authority to monitor economic activities, investigate anti-competitive conduct, and address practices that may harm consumers.
The law prohibits excessive, opaque, misleading, or collusive pricing, even as market forces generally determine price levels, the commission said.
Nigerians have complained in recent days about flight costs to the South-East and South-South, with tickets reportedly climbing above N350,000 in some cases.
Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo has said the federal government cannot regulate airfare pricing, noting that Nigeria’s aviation sector has been deregulated since the Ibrahim Babangida administration.
Airlines operate a bucket pricing system under which fares rise as seats fill up, with late bookings during periods of high demand driving seasonal spikes.
Structural challenges including limited aircraft availability, a weak naira, high fuel costs, and multiple aviation charges continue to push ticket prices higher across the sector.
Only about 0.02 percent of Nigeria’s population flies, limiting airlines’ ability to achieve economies of scale.
