“When Will Nigeria Have Its Own Airline?” — Senator Nwaebonyi Calls On FG to Act As Ticket Prices Hit N500k
✍️ By Teju/ December 10, 2025/ 12:15pm
The soaring cost of domestic air travel in Nigeria has sparked outrage in the Senate after Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi revealed that a one-way ticket from Abuja to Enugu now costs between N460,000 and N500,000. Speaking during plenary, the senator described the fare hike as “over 400% at a go,” calling it unprecedented and unacceptable.
According to him, his personal assistant attempted to book a December 13 flight and was met with shocking prices: N500,000 on Air Peace and N460,000 on Ibom Air.
“This is unheard of. We never had it this way,” he lamented while supporting a motion by the Senate Committee on Aviation seeking an urgent downward review of ticket prices.
Senator Nwaebonyi went further, demanding that the Federal Ministry of Aviation provide answers on the long-delayed Nigeria Air project.
“If Ghana can have Ghana Air, and other African countries have theirs, when will Nigeria have our own public airline?” he asked. “We are overdue.”
He urged the Minister of Aviation to “rise to the occasion and save Nigerians from this unwanted and unfounded extortion by private airline operators,” stressing that the present situation makes air travel inaccessible for millions of Nigerians who rely on it for business, safety, and mobility.
As Nigerians grapple with inflation, rising operational costs in aviation, and dwindling purchasing power, this new development has intensified calls for stronger government regulation and the revival of a national carrier.
