The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has criticized the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) for its public statement questioning Air Peace’s pricing practices.
Keyamo argued that the FCCPC should have first consulted with the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) before making any public remarks about the airline’s pricing.
Keyamo stated this during an interview on The Morning Show on Arise News TV on Sunday, where he was asked about the FCCPC’s investigation into Air Peace’s alleged exorbitant airfare.
He emphasized that the NCAA, not the FCCPC, is responsible for regulating airline pricing and that the commission should have approached the authority for clarification before issuing its statement.
“I think it was a very careless statement – I say that with all apology – by the agency, making such a statement without consulting the core agency involved in regulation, which is the NCAA,” the Aviation Minister said.
He added, “They should have contacted the NCAA for them to look at the books, which we have been doing, so we would have given them facts.”
Addressing the core issue, Keyamo explained that the challenges faced by Nigerian airlines, including Air Peace, are not driven by price gouging, but rather by significant capacity limitations. These challenges include the difficulty in acquiring and servicing aircraft, along with the impact of fluctuating foreign exchange rates on the cost of operations.
The Minister pointed out that many Nigerian airlines rely on wet leasing aircraft, which incurs additional costs.
