The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has found five Nigerian airlines guilty of engaging in price fixing during the recent festive travel period.
The development was disclosed on Thursday by presidential spokesperson Sunday Dare in a statement shared on X, following the conclusion of a preliminary investigation by the consumer protection agency.
According to Dare, the airlines involved will face sanctions and may also be required to refund passengers who paid inflated fares during the period.
“With the preliminary investigations concluded, the FCCPC is set to sanction about five airlines guilty of colluding to fix prices during the last Christmas and New Year holidays,” Dare stated.
He explained that the disclosure was made by Tunji Bello, Executive Vice Chairman of the FCCPC, during a State House “Meet the Press” session.
Dare further noted that the airlines could be directed to reimburse customers for the excessive charges collected during the peak travel season.
“These airlines may be asked to refund the excess charges to customers. Prices went up as far as N405,000 and N600,000,” he said, adding that the commission would soon release its final report on the investigation.
The issue of rising domestic airfares became a major concern during the last festive season, with many travellers complaining about the unusually high ticket prices for short-distance flights.
Earlier, the FCCPC had revealed in a statement issued on February 26 that it uncovered evidence of price manipulation among local airlines during the 2025 Christmas and New Year travel period.
During the investigation, authorities discovered that some passengers paid as much as N700,000 for a one-hour domestic flight, sparking widespread public criticism and prompting the Nigerian Senate to raise concerns over the situation.
The consumer protection commission said its actions are aimed at protecting passengers from exploitative practices and ensuring fair competition within Nigeria’s aviation sector.
The agency is expected to announce the specific sanctions and other regulatory measures once the final report on the investigation is completed.
