The House of Representatives on Thursday asked the Federal Government to grant immediate tax waivers to airlines in a bid to reduce flight fares during the Yuletide season.
Lawmakers also called for a 50 percent reduction in auxiliary charges within the aviation industry.
The resolution came after a debate on the soaring cost of flight fares. However, the lawmakers rejected proposals to subsidize airline tickets.
On Tuesday, the Senate summoned the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, and other stakeholders over rising flight tickets.
Senator Buhari Abdulfatai from Oyo State, who led the debate, told lawmakers that Nigerians have been complaining about the rising cost of domestic flight tickets in recent months.
Abdulfatai disclosed that a one-way ticket from Abuja to Lagos now costs between N400,000 and N600,000, an amount many citizens can no longer afford.
“We need to invite stakeholders of our airline agencies to interact and interrogate the issues. Immediate steps must be taken before the festive period,” he said during plenary.
He added that the development was particularly troubling given the worsening security situation on many highways, forcing more travellers to rely on air transport despite the soaring costs.
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Several senators expressed outrage over the increases and accused airlines of taking advantage of peak travel demand.
Senator Adamu Aliero described the development as unacceptable, while Senator Onyekachi Nwebonyi criticised what he termed a 400 percent jump in fares on some routes, saying the absence of a functional national carrier had worsened the pricing crisis.
Nwebonyi urged the aviation ministry to act decisively, warning that the current trend could cripple domestic tourism, business travel and inter-state mobility.
Senator Solomon Adeola also faulted airline operators, noting that the industry had benefited from multiple government concessions, including waivers on spare parts and other critical aviation equipment. He said those advantages should have translated into more affordable fares for passengers.
His intervention was met with objections from several lawmakers who insisted that such challenges could not justify the magnitude of the current fare hikes.
Following heated exchanges, the Senate directed the aviation minister, representatives of domestic airlines, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and other relevant agencies to appear before the appropriate committees within days.
The hearing is expected to examine the causes of the fare increases and propose immediate measures to stabilise prices ahead of the holiday rush.
Keyamo, who was sworn in as aviation minister in 2023, has previously acknowledged the financial difficulties facing airline operators, including fuel costs, foreign exchange volatility and maintenance expenses.
However, lawmakers on Tuesday insisted that government must balance industry survival with the protection of passengers.
The Senate’s intervention comes amid growing public anger over the rising cost of transportation across the country, driven by fuel subsidy removal, currency depreciation and inflationary pressures.
Air travel has increasingly become the preferred option for many Nigerians due to persistent insecurity on major highways, including cases of kidnapping and armed robbery.
Industry analysts say the combination of limited aircraft availability, high operating expenses and increased seasonal demand has contributed to the spike in ticket prices.
Some domestic airlines have reduced fleet sizes due to maintenance delays and difficulties in accessing foreign exchange for spare parts, leading to fewer seats and higher prices.