Domestic air fare rises 25% to N123, 700 in one month

Domestic airfares surged by 25.5% month-on-month (MoM) in August 2024, rising to N123,700 from N98,561 in July 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) ‘Transport Fare Watch’ report released yesterday.

Niger State had the highest airfare at N129,575, followed closely by Abuja at N129,442.

The NBS stated: “For air travel, the average fare paid for a single journey on specified routes was N123,700.14 in August 2024, reflecting a 25.51% increase compared to July 2024.”

On a year-on-year basis, airfares saw a 56.56% hike from N79,011.38 in August 2023. Niger recorded the highest airfare (for specified routes) at N129,575.21, followed by Abuja at N129,442.67, while Zamfara had the lowest fare at N102,665.89, followed by Cross River at N120,088.93.

In another category, intercity bus fares increased slightly by 0.59% MoM to N7,159 in August 2024, up from N7,117 in July 2024.

The highest bus fare was recorded in Anambra at N9,580.85, followed by Gombe at N8,349.26, while the lowest fare was in Kwara at N5,574.46, followed by Ebonyi at N5,614.81.

Similarly, motorcycle (Okada) fares rose by 8.46% MoM to N524.22 per drop in August 2024, compared to N483.33 in July 2024. Lagos State had the highest Okada fare at N909.20, followed by Ondo at N761.39, while Bayelsa had the lowest fare at N312.10, followed by Anambra at N317.05.

For water transport, the average fare increased by 3.3% MoM to N1,449 in August 2024, up from N1,403 in July 2024. The highest water transport fare was recorded in Bayelsa at N4,563.98, followed by Delta at N4,261.55. The lowest fare was seen in Borno at N475.89, followed by Gombe at N619.19.

Meanwhile, intra-city bus fares dropped by 7.7% MoM to N869.35 in August 2024, from N942.61 in July 2024. Zamfara had the highest fare for intra-city bus journeys at N1,155.52, followed by Ondo at N1,065.20, while Adamawa recorded the lowest fare at N455.33, followed closely by Abia at N455.35.