By Seun Ibiyemi
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has uncovered patterns of alleged price manipulation by some domestic airlines during the December 2025 festive season.
The Chief Executive Officer of the commission, Mr. Tunji Bello, disclosed this in an interim report released on Thursday by the agency’s Department of Surveillance and Investigations.
The report, signed by Mr. Ondaje Ijagwu, Director of Corporate Affairs, followed an industry-wide investigation launched in January into alleged exploitative airfares on local routes.
Bello said the assessment was carried out in line with the commission’s statutory mandate to promote competitive markets and protect consumers.
“This assessment is intended to provide clarity on pricing behaviour during predictable peak travel periods. The commission’s role is not to disrupt legitimate commercial activity, but to ensure that market outcomes remain consistent with competition and consumer protection principles under the law,” he said.
According to the interim findings, fares recorded during the December festive peak were significantly higher than those observed in the post-peak period of January 2026 across several routes.
This was despite relative stability in key cost drivers such as aviation fuel prices, government taxes and foreign exchange rates.
The report indicated that the fare differences appeared to reflect pricing strategies such as yield management and capacity allocation decisions rather than changes in regulatory fees.
Route-level analysis revealed that higher fares coincided with reduced seat availability during predictable seasonal demand surges. On some high-density routes, peak fares were reportedly clustered within narrow price bands across multiple operators.
The Abuja–Port Harcourt corridor was cited as one of the routes where peak fares were several times higher than post-peak levels.
In certain instances, the price difference for a single ticket rose to about N405,000, while median fares across sampled routes increased markedly during the festive window compared to post-peak benchmarks.
Bello acknowledged that seasonal demand pressures, scheduling constraints and fleet utilisation could influence pricing during peak periods, adding that these factors remained under review.
He stressed that the report was interim and that further structural and route-level analysis was ongoing before final conclusions would be drawn.
The commission noted the possible relevance of Sections 59, 72, 107, 108, 124 and 127 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018, which address issues including restraint of competition, abuse of dominance, price fixing, conspiracy and unfair contract terms.
“Our next action will be dictated by full facts established at the end of the review exercise. The commission will then decide whether any regulatory guidance, engagement or enforcement steps are necessary, strictly in accordance with the law,” Bello said.
He added that foreign airlines would also come under scrutiny after the review of domestic carriers, following complaints that some international operators allegedly charge Nigerians higher fares on certain routes compared to prices in neighbouring countries for similar distances.
