By John Ikani
Latest data released by Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics, (NBS) indicates that the average domestic airfare paid by passengers has surged by 94.78 per cent in the past 12 months.
The increase comes at a time when the aviation industry is facing myriad of challenges.
According to the NBS report titled, “Transport Fare Watch (January 2023),” airfares recorded a 0.16 per cent rise when measured on a month-on-month basis.
In January 2023, the average local airfare rose from N74,586.49 to N74,702.70, which is an increase of 0.16 per cent from the previous month.
The report also revealed that the average fare paid by commuters for bus journeys within the city per drop rose by 0.94 per cent in January 2023, from N644.66 in December 2022 to N650.70.
When compared to January 2022, the average fare paid by commuters for bus journeys within the city per drop rose by 36.59 per cent from N476.39.
In addition, the average fare paid by commuters for intercity bus journeys per drop rose to N3,998.42 in January 2023, an increase of 0.68 per cent compared to December 2022, which was N3,971.22.
The NBS report also revealed that the average transport fare paid via commercial motorcycle was N466.25 in January 2023, a 1.04 per cent increase from the previous month (N461.45) and a 36.75 per cent increase from January 2021 (N340.94).
Furthermore, the average fare paid for water transport (waterway passenger transportation) increased by 16.28 per cent on a year-on-year basis, rising from N888.24 in January 2022 to N1,032.84 in January 2023.
This represents a 0.40 per cent increase on a month-on-month basis from N1,028.73 recorded in December 2022.
