A rise in airfare prices is anticipated as the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) plans to increase the cost of extending service hours for airlines by 800 percent, raising the fee from N50,000 to N450,000 per extension.

NAMA also announced that the new rates for en-route and terminal navigation charges will now be N18,000 and N54,000 per flight from the initial 2,000 and 6,000 Naira.

Umar Farouk, the Managing Director of NAMA, disclosed this on Friday at an interaction with the League of Airports and Aviation Correspondents, LAAC in Abuja.

He said the move was to cushion the impact of airspace surveillance in Nigeria.

He said, “The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency relies on statutory fees for the management of the airspace (remember that aviation takes place only in the air). These funds are generated from services we provide to the flying community, without these funds NAMA can’t discharge its responsibility of ensuring the safety of our airspace effectively. We majorly generate these funds through the airline companies.”

“Currently, our unit rate for international flights charged for service provision is about $70, domestic flights are charged 6,000 Naira. While NAMA recognizes the difficult economic environment in which aviation operates in Nigeria, it is equally a part of the ecosystem.

”It goes to the same market to procure equipment and other services like training. If NAMA is to survive and continue to guarantee safety and efficiency in the airspace, it must breathe.

“Even though most costs in the economy have increased by more than 1,000 percent, NAMA has proposed to increase its fees by 800 percent. The new rates for en-route and terminal navigation charges are to be reviewed from 2,000 and 6,000 Naira to N18,000 and N54,000 per flight. Also, the extension of hours of service is to be reviewed from N50,000 to N450,000 per extension to enable the agency to recover the cost of diesel and other logistics during the period of extension”.

The implication of this would lead to astronomical increases in domestic airfares and by extension fares on international routes.

At the moment, Abuja to Lagos domestic route airfare stands between N105,000 to N150,000 depending on the airline. While international airfare from Abuja to London stands between N1.5 million and N1.63 million.