Passengers lament increase in fares by airline operators.

Abuja – Passengers at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Friday lamented over the increase in fares by airline operators.

The airline operators, however, blamed the increase on the cost of aviation fuel, known as “jet A1.”

Some of the passengers  said  that the increase in airfare fares  was worrisome.

The Oba of Owu-Ijebu, Ogun State, Oba Micheal Adesina, also complained about the delay in flight schedules, adding that the Economy Class tickets previously sold for N18,000 from Abuja to Lagos, had been increased to N24,000.

“Recently, we have been having embarrassing delay, even when you have a boarding pass, you are subjected to about two hours delay for one reason or the other.

“We have not even been told why there is this sudden increase in the price of the ticket which is about 25 per cent.

“The regulatory authorities need to be more alive to their responsibilities, people don’t just come and change rates, they don’t seem to be doing enough to regulate these airlines,’’ Oba Adesina said.

Another passenger, Mrs Roseline Agba, said  she had been on the queue  to buy a ticket from Abuja to Uyo but  it had been difficult to get a boarding pass in spite of the irregularity in the flight rates.

“I am travelling to Uyo with Dana and I actually got a ticket online but on getting here, I discovered that the rates are very, very irregular.

“I was able to book online yesterday and I got a fair rate but on getting here, they said that they don’t work with internet booking, so I had to go out there to get a ticket and the rates are different,” she said.

She also lamented the poor services rendered by the airlines.

Mrs Bade Nwankpa, a pharmacist, who said that she recently relocated  to the country from the UK, also blamed the airline operators for increasing their rates without any cogent reason.

However, Mr Kayode Adeniran, the Station Manager of Dana blamed the high cost of air tariff on the high cost of crude oil.

Adeniran said  the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had increased its Passenger Service Charge (PSC) to N1,000 per person.

“Actually, the cost of the increase in fare is because of the hike in the price of jet A1 and then we have other issues like landing, parking and other costs.

“If you want the airlines to survive, a one-hour flight should not be less than N25, 000,” he said.

Mr Salami Altay, Manager, Turkish Airlines also said that the increase in ticket prices by the airlines was due to global increase in the price of crude oil.

He said that the company’s flight rate from Nigeria to Turkey on Thursday was N153,391 instead of the former rate of N140,000.

Altay said that it was normal for the airlines to increase their flight rates once the aviation fuel was increased.(NAN)