Nigerian Government To Sanction Five Airlines For Alleged Price Fixing During Last Christmas, New Year
Nigerian Government To Sanction Five Airlines For Alleged Price Fixing During Last Christmas, New Year
The disclosure was made on Thursday by the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the commission, Tunji Bello, during the State House “Meet the Press” session.
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has concluded preliminary investigations into airline ticket pricing during the last Christmas and New Year holidays and is preparing to sanction about five airlines found guilty of price fixing.
The disclosure was made on Thursday by the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the commission, Tunji Bello, during the State House “Meet the Press” session.
According to Bello, the investigation found that the affected airlines allegedly colluded to fix ticket prices during the peak festive travel period, causing fares to surge significantly.
He said, “With its preliminary investigations concluded, the FCCPC is set to sanction about 5 airlines guilty of colluding to fix prices during the last Christmas/New Year holidays.”
Bello further noted that the airlines involved may be required to compensate passengers who paid inflated fares.
“These airlines may be asked to refund excess to the customers,” he said
During the festive season, domestic flight fares reportedly rose sharply, with some tickets selling for as high as N405,000 and N600,000, triggering widespread complaints from travellers across the country.
“Prices went up as far as 405k and 600k,” Bello stated
The FCCPC boss added that the commission was finalising its findings and would release a comprehensive report soon.
“A final report will be ready shortly,” he said
The FCCPC has the mandate to protect consumers from unfair market practices, including price manipulation, anti-competitive agreements, and exploitative conduct by service providers.
The development comes amid recurring concerns over the high cost of domestic air travel in Nigeria, especially during peak periods such as holidays when demand for flights rises significantly.
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If confirmed, the sanctions could compel the affected airlines to issue refunds to passengers who were charged excessive fares during the festive travel period.
Earlier in February, SaharaReporters reported that the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) established a case of price fixing by some local airlines, according to an interim report documenting what it described as abuses during the Christmas season.
A review undertaken by the Commission uncovered patterns of price manipulation perpetrated by some domestic carriers during the last festive period.
The findings are contained in an interim report released on Thursday by the Commission’s Department of Surveillance and Investigations.
Meanwhile, Mr. Bello announced that foreign airlines would come under the Commission’s radar after the ongoing review of local operators, citing widespread complaints of exploitative fares allegedly charged on certain routes compared to fares in neighbouring countries of equal distance.
