THE Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has increased airport charges for passengers travelling through all airports in the country.

The new levy, Passenger Service Charge (PSC), has been hiked to N1,000 from N350 for domestic travellers and took effect two weeks ago.

But Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited, operators of the ultra-modern domestic terminal, MMA2, continues to charge the old rate of N35O per passenger.

For international travel, the authority has equally, some say clandestinely, raised the charge from $35 to $50, a situation some airlines claimed was not communicated to them.

With the scenario, a passenger travelling to Accra, Ghana for instance is expected to pay over $100 on airport tax as he would pay $50 at the airport and another $50 at Kotoka International Airport, Accra, all exclusive of airfare.

The implication is that Accra, which is about 45 minutes by air, may cost over N100,000 as airlines are contemplating raising airfare to cover the new charges.

A top official of FAAN who spoke with The Guardian on condition of anonymity confirmed the increase, but declined to give reason for it.

Some travel agents who spoke with The Guardian at the weekend said they were surprised over the development.

And, following several flight delays and cancellations without prior notice, which currently characterise air travel in the country, more wealthy Nigerians appeared to have lost faith in airline operators and have instead decided to buy their own private jets to fly in.

A top official in the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) who spoke with The Guardian on this development submitted that these rich Nigerians were buying the luxury jets in order to cut down on time wasted in the course of moving around for their business transactions.

The source stated that it would be foolhardy for a wealthy businessman to be stranded at an airport for more than four hours or more or rely on domestic flight schedules that are currently unreliable when he has urgent business appointment to meet.

The current unending flight delays and cancellations have been attributed to the airlines’ indebtedness to aviation fuel marketers, totalling over N4 billion, a situation that has forced the marketers to supply the operators on a cash-and-carry basis.

Many airlines in the country are cash-strapped and cannot raise enough funds to fuel their aircraft for their daily operations.

Although the NCAA, through its consumer protection directorate has been working to end this ugly situation, the problem has remained the same.

Two weeks ago, a business mogul and sole distribution of a popular brand of cars in Nigeria acquired a state-of-the-art Gulf Stream jet, just as one of the management concessionaires of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), whose concession is under threat of revocation.

Not too long ago, a publisher of a national newspaper joined the fray. Other recent buyers of private jets included clergymen and notable businessmen.

A visit to the domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport revealed many of these private jets parked at the apron near Arik aircraft hangar and at the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) near Aero Contractor’s terminal. They included jets were Gulf Stream, Challenger Global 5000, Hawker 900 XP, Beechcraft and Falcon X aircraft brands.

Recently, Director-General, Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Mrs. Ifeyinwa Umenyi, said the commission would invoke a section of its Act to impose sanctions on airlines that continue to cancel or delay flights.


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