Air travellers lament as Abuja-Ilorin one-way ticket hits N380,000

Air travellers in Kwara State have raised concerns over the rising cost of flight tickets on the Ilorin route, which many say have become unjustifiably higher than fares on longer routes such as Lagos to Abuja. Passengers and stakeholders say the development is affecting mobility, economic activities, and access to the state, especially as cancellations […]

Air travellers in Kwara State have raised concerns over the rising cost of flight tickets on the Ilorin route, which many say have become unjustifiably higher than fares on longer routes such as Lagos to Abuja.

Passengers and stakeholders say the development is affecting mobility, economic activities, and access to the state, especially as cancellations and flight delays continue to compound the problem.

Alhaji AbdulAzeez, a regular air traveller, told Daily Trust on Tuesday that a one-way ticket from Ilorin to Abuja now sells for as high as N250,000 to N290,000, especially on weekends or Monday mornings. 

This is a sharp rise from the previous average of N65,000 to N100,000 for the same journey.

 “In contrast, Lagos to Abuja flights, which take longer on air, go for around N120,000 to N150,000. Sometimes even less,” he said.

On his part, another passenger who simply identified himself as Nurudeen also lamented the situation.

 “What this means is that Ilorin passengers are paying almost double the price for a shorter flight. Yet they are still at the mercy of delays, sudden cancellations, or flight rescheduling without refunds. 

“Sometimes you are left stranded with no compensation and forced to consider the risky and time-consuming road journey,” he added.

He further explained that operators often cite operational, technical, or administrative reasons for disruptions, leaving passengers in uncertainty. “No reasonable passenger wants to board a flight with safety issues. But they use these excuses and passengers have no choice but to accept because of the fear of crashing,” he said.

 Nurudeen further decried frequent flight diversions, which he said were sometimes due to increased traffic at other airports, further punishing passengers on the Ilorin route.

 The matter has also drawn the attention of lawmakers. Hon Rukayat Shittu, a member of the Kwara State House of Assembly, recently raised the issue at plenary, calling for urgent action to address what she described as an unfair pricing system.

In a Facebook post on the matter, the lawmaker said the Ilorin airfare crisis hurts the masses and hampers development in the state.

“Air connectivity is no longer a luxury. It is a public good like roads, electricity, or education,” she wrote.

“When ticket prices in Ilorin are unfairly higher than similar routes in other states, the poorest suffer the most. Artisans, market women, hotel workers, and transporters lose income when fewer people fly into Kwara. Students and young professionals miss out on opportunities. Small businesses lose clients and investors skip Kwara due to high cost and poor accessibility,” she added.

Shittu urged aviation stakeholders and regulators to review the pricing structure for Ilorin and ensure it reflects fairness, accessibility, and economic relevance.

As of the time of filing this report yesterday, a one-way flight from Abuja-Ilorin on Overland Airways has ballooned to N380,000 for July 17 flight (today) and N300,000 for the following day.

The cheapest fares quoted by the airline are N160,000 while for other days of the week, the fares are between N200,000 and N280,000.

Similarly, Lagos to Ilorin as of yesterday was quoted for N350,000 for Thursday’s flight while Friday’s flight cost N240,000 if the traveller was booking on Wednesday.

Green Africa, another airline operating the route only has Abuja to Ilorin flight on Saturday with the ticket sold for N225,000. The passenger could pay more because of the airline’s baggage policy which only allows 7kg carry-on luggage.

 “A one-way was sold for N450,000 on Overland during the just concluded Sallah,” an official at the airport said yesterday.

 

Demand and Supply factor

While there is no official reaction from airlines, sources attribute the development to forces of demand and supply given that only two airlines currently fly to the airport.

Speaking with our correspondent, General Secretary of Aviation Roundtable (ART), Olumide Ohunayo said while the tickets are too high, it is the simple economics of demand and supply.

“When you have such a situation, price becomes inelastic,” he said, adding it is high time the proposal by ART on new licensing and regulatory regime was implemented.

“So we need to license operators like air taxi operators so that they can help us with these smaller airports. If we have these small aircraft, airports that are fallow will not be fallow. We need to have these airlines which would also help the airports and more Nigerians would be able to fly and revenues will increase for the agency and we would now begin to see fair and appropriate pricing,” he added.

…Air fare remains deregulated – NCAA

Speaking with our correspondent, Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection of NCAA, Mr. Michael Achimugu emphasised that NCAA doesn’t regulate pricing since fares are deregulated.   

According to him, NCAA only regulates the industry especially for safety and economic regulation and consumer protection.

He noted that with more airlines operating to the airport, there would be “fair competition” and prices would naturally drop.

“Pricing is not regulated by CAA. There is no CAA anywhere in the world that regulates pricing. Let us also understand that some airlines are incurring losses to operate to some of these airports.”