NAMA Increases Charges Of Airfares By 800%

The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has allegedly announced their plans to raise en-route navigational charges from N2000 and N6,000, to N18,000 and N54,000 per flight.

It has been reported that the airspace agency equally increased the extension of hours of service to airlines from N50,000 to 450,000, which is about 800% increase per extension.

This is to help the agency to recover the cost of diesel and other logistics during the period of extension. say this implies that air fares would rise to reflect the new increase in charges.

The Managing Director of NAMA, Umar Ahmed Farouk, disclosed this on Thursday, 26th of July, 2024 at the League of Airports and Aviation Correspondent (LAAC) seminar theme, “Aviation Survivability amidst a Challenging Macro-Economic Environment,” held in Lagos.

He said, “The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency relies on statutory fees for the management of the airspace (remember that aviation takes place only in the air). These funds are generated from services we provide to the flying community, without these funds NAMA can’t discharge its responsibility of ensuring the safety of our airspace effectively. We majorly generate these funds through the airline companies.”

Farouk further said that for 2023, NAMA had an expenditure of about N21 billion in personnel costs alone, over N12 billion in capital costs, and over N10 billion in overhead costs, adding that all these were to be (and were) funded from fees (no FGN budgetary allocation).

He said NAMA has been charging as low as N11,000 per flight, while a one-way domestic ticket cost only N16,000.

He further said while ticket prices today have gone up hugely, to as high as between N150,000 to N200,000 for a one-way economy ticket, due to the economic circumstances, NAMA navigational charges have remained the same since June 2008.

“Currently, our unit rate for international flights charged for service provision is about $70, domestic flights are charged 6,000 Naira.”

“While NAMA recognizes the difficult economic environment aviation operates in Nigeria, it is equally a part of the ecosystem. It goes to the same market to procure equipment and other services like training. If NAMA is to survive and continue to guarantee safety and efficiency in the airspace, it must breathe.”

“Even though most costs in the economy have increased by more than 1,000 percent, NAMA has proposed to increase its fees by 800%. The new rates for en-route and terminal navigation charges are to be reviewed from 2,000 and 6,000 Naira to N18,000 and N54,000 per flight. Also, the extension of hours of service is to be reviewed from N50,000 to N450,000 per extension to enable the agency to recover the cost of diesel and other logistics during the period of extension.”

“The largest percentage of NAMA’s revenue comes from en-route navigation charges (domestic and international flights) and terminal navigation charges (domestic and international flights). While international flights pay in US dollars, domestic flights pay in the Nigerian currency.”