Is Nigeria’s domestic flight cheapest in the world?

By Amarachi Onwuzulike

Claim: In a recent media appearance, Air Peace chairperson Allen Onyema said Nigeria’s domestic flight fares are the cheapest in the world.

Verdict: False. Domestic flight fares in several countries, including the United States, Italy, and Kenya, are cheaper than those in Nigeria, even when covering longer distances. Findings show that even at peak pricing, the high airfare falls below the $400 figure claimed by Allen Onyema.

Full Text

Insecurity is one factor forcing Nigerians to abandon the roads, which is the cheapest means of transport, when travelling interstate to visit their loved ones.

However, travelling by air is out of reach for the average Nigerian, as domestic flight costs have risen exponentially during the festive season. 

This spike has triggered public outcry, especially among travellers flying to the Southeast. One-way tickets from Abuja or Lagos to Owerri, Enugu, Anambra, or Asaba now sell for over N350,000 on airlines like Air Peace and United Nigeria.

This cost, compared to 2022, when tickets cost N50,000, is a drastic increase for many. 

Members of the National Assembly have also raised concerns about the rising cost of domestic flights, describing the fares as exploitative and unaffordable for the average Nigerian. 

Some lawmakers have called for investigations and regulatory intervention, arguing that air travel is increasingly becoming inaccessible to many citizens.

Against this backdrop, Allen Onyema, Chairman of Air Peace, in an interview with Arise News, said that Nigerians pay the cheapest domestic airfares globally. 

He added that an hour-long domestic flight in other parts of the world could cost over 400 dollars, which is over N578,000. 

Following the statement, Mazitundeedunt, a blogger, shared the claim on Instagram, sparking heated reactions. 

As of Dec. 30, 2025, the video generated over 37,600 likes, 699 reposts, 8,194 comments and 1,779 shares.

While some users, such as Goldenshutternigeris, defended Onyema, arguing that “although fares are high, airline maintenance costs are influenced by Nigeria’s lack of maintenance facilities.”

Others, including Chidiokoye, outrightly dismissed the claim as misleading and disconnected from the lived experiences of Nigerian travellers.

Due to these conflicting public opinions, DUBAWA decided to verify the claim.

Verification

DUBAWA conducted a comparative analysis of domestic flight prices in Nigeria and other countries using Skyscanner.

We used three indicators: the ticket price and the airlines operating the routes, the currency value and conversion, and the affordability relative to each country’s minimum wage.

The analysis focused on direct, economy-class flights during the December festive period, when demand is typically highest.

In Nigeria, where the minimum wage is N70,000, an hour-long one-way ticket from Abuja to Asaba on Air Peace and United Nigeria Airlines ranged from N259,000 to N464,000. At an exchange rate of N1,444 per dollar, these tickets cost between $179 and $321 in a country where the monthly minimum wage equals $48.46.

A single one-way ticket on this route can cost almost three to over four times the Nigerian monthly minimum wage. The calculation highlights the unaffordability for the average Nigerian monthly earner, who would need several months’ income to travel by air.

DUBAWA found that domestic flight costs are lower in several countries in Africa, Europe, and North America than in Nigeria.

In Kenya, for example, a one-way ticket from Nairobi to Mombasa on Kenya Airways ranges from KES 13,492 to KES 16,072. With the exchange rate of KES 129 per dollar, the currency value of these tickets is $104 to $124.

The flight duration is approximately an hour, and the minimum wage is KES 15,201.

A Nairobi–Mombasa ticket typically costs a little over one month’s minimum wage, and in some cases, less than half, making domestic air travel more accessible to Kenyan workers.

In the United Kingdom (UK), a one-way flight from Manchester to Belfast on ITA Airways ranged from £52 to £91, with an exchange rate of €0.85 per dollar. Using the exchange rate, these fares convert to $52–$106. 

The flight lasts approximately one hour and ten minutes, while the UK minimum wage ranges from £10 to £12 per hour, depending on age, which is equivalent to over €2000 per month.

Even at the upper end, a Manchester-Belfast ticket costs above represents a small fraction of the monthly income for a minimum-wage earner, unlike in Nigeria, where airfare can exceed total monthly earnings.

Lastly, in Italy, a one-way flight from Rome to Milan on ITA Airways was priced between £49 and £71.59, equivalent to $58 to $84. 

The flight duration is approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes, further reinforcing the affordability of domestic air travel in Nigeria.

While there is no universally recognised global index ranking the cheapest domestic flights in the world, DUBAWA’s findings show that several countries across Africa and Europe offer significantly cheaper domestic airfares than Nigeria, especially when measured against the minimum wage.

These comparative examples contradict Onyema’s claim and indicate that Nigeria’s domestic flight prices are not the cheapest globally, but among the least affordable relative to average earnings.

Factors behind cheaper domestic flights

The claim falls apart when one examines the actual market price ceilings and the diversity of the global aviation landscape. 

Onyema bypassed the larger segment of the global market dominated by Low-Cost Carriers (LCCs) in Europe and Asia. In those regions, the “floor” for ticket prices is kept low by high-volume, no-frills business models that do not exist in the same form in Nigeria. 

Furthermore, the structural differences in how airlines price their “peak” versus “off-peak” seats alter the narrative. 

In more mature markets, such as the UK or Thailand, the cabin is typically filled with passengers who booked early at lower rates. However, last-minute tickets could be more expensive.

In contrast, the Nigerian market during the Christmas and New Year period often sees a “flat-rate” surge across almost all available seats due to the extreme directional nature of the traffic. 

Because planes frequently fly nearly empty on return legs, the airline must effectively charge the traveller for a round trip. 

For instance, planes fly full cabins to Enugu, but return to Lagos with few passengers during the period. 

This creates a situation where the “cheapest” ticket available during the Nigerian yuletide is priced at a premium by global standards, regardless of the exchange rate used in the calculation.

Ultimately, one must distinguish between “price” and “cost.” Onyema’s argument is rooted in the soaring operational costs faced by Nigerian carriers, including high interest rates and the exorbitant cost of ferrying aircraft abroad for maintenance. 

However, from a consumer’s perspective, these internal inefficiencies do not necessarily make the final ticket price “cheap.” 

While it may be true that Nigerian airlines are operating on razor-thin or even negative margins, this reflects a high-cost environment rather than a low-price one. 

To further verify the claim, DUBAWA spoke with Yusuf Akinleye Salawu, an aviation lawyer at Tayo Laleye & Co.

When asked, from a legal and regulatory standpoint, how accurate the claim is that Nigeria’s domestic flight fares are the cheapest in the world, considering how airfares are regulated and priced in other countries, Yusuf said the assertion was misplaced.

According to him, the claim that Nigeria has the cheapest domestic airfares globally has been repeatedly advanced by key industry stakeholders, including airline executives and the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON). 

While international price comparisons often support these arguments, Yusuf noted that the reality for the average Nigerian traveller is far more complex.

From a legal and regulatory perspective, he explained that the accuracy of such a claim depends on how “cheap” is defined. 

“There is a crucial distinction between measuring airfare affordability by dollar-denominated ticket prices and assessing the actual financial burden on Nigerian citizens,” he explained

Although a domestic ticket in Nigeria may appear relatively inexpensive when converted to US dollars, Yusuf stressed that structural costs, multiple charges, and heavy taxation within Nigeria’s aviation sector significantly increase the real cost of air travel. 

These factors, he said, undermine the claim that Nigeria’s domestic flight fares are the cheapest in the world when viewed from the standpoint of affordability and consumer impact.

Conclusion

Available evidence contradicts Allen Onyema’s claim that Nigeria has the cheapest domestic flight fares in the world.