The executive chairman of United Nigeria Airlines, Obiorah Okonkwo, has urged the national legislature to lessen the numerous taxes that affect domestic airlines airfaresAir.
Speaking at the opening of commercial operations at the Ekiti Agro-Allied International Airport, Okonkwo claimed that one of the main causes of the nation’s high airfares is the quantity of taxes levied on airlines.
He claimed that lowering taxes will enable Nigerians to purchase airline tickets at a lower cost.
“I know some people might be complaining about the cost of the ticket. My first advice is that buy your ticket very early. If you buy your ticket early enough, you will get lower rates,” the chairman said.
“The other thing is to help us pray that with the help of the national assembly, which the leader is already working on and the rest of his colleagues, that the government will be able to look into multiple taxations that are plaguing the airline industry.
“We are taxed about 18 taxes on one single ticket. So any ticket you buy, maybe 70 percent of them goes to other government agencies. If the national assembly will help us reduce these things, which are legislative in nature, we will be able to reduce also the cost of ticket so that it should be affordable to all.”
Recall that Festus Keyamo, the minister of aviation and aerospace development, and important industry players were called to an urgent meeting by the senate due to the rapid increase in domestic airfares.
The decision came in response to a motion made by Senator Abdulfatai Buhari of Oyo North, who cautioned that rising costs could hinder travel before the holiday season and endanger national mobility.
In an interview with reporters on Wednesday, Keyamo attributed the present high domestic airfares to a lack of planes and inadequate maintenance facilities.
Noting that high airfares are mostly caused by government taxes and aviation fees, ECOWAS stated that the decision intends to lower air travel costs and strengthen subregional economic integration.
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