There is no end in sight to the continued spike in international fares as Nigerian travellers to other parts of the world pay more than three times higher than what their counterparts in neighbouring countries pay on some routes, checks by Daily Trust Saturday have shown.
Our correspondent reports that stakeholders and travellers had decried the high airfares in Nigeria, but little did they know that travellers in neighbouring countries, such as Ghana, Benin Republic, Niger, among other West African neighbours, pay far less on the same class of ticket.
Recently, a social media post went viral about how Lagos to London costs $1,636 (1.3m) and Cotonou to London costs $469 (N380,000) on the same date and airline.
However, checks by Daily Trust Saturday indicate that virtually all the neighbouring countries enjoy far cheaper airfares than Nigeria despite the high travel demand.
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Some analysts, however, said the dynamics of demand and supply were at play, coupled with the fact that Nigeria lacks the capacity for reciprocity.
The Lagos-London route remains a reference point because of its busy nature with Nigerians thronging the United Kingdom for businesses, education, and those seeking greener pastures.
A direct flight from Lagos to London is about six hours, 30 minutes.
Turkish Airlines appears to be the most expensive of the tickets, with a Lagos-London flight costing as much as $3,534 (N2.7m) while the lowest advertised fare is $1,432 (N1.1m).
However, the same flight for Cotonou costs between $475 (N368, 837) and $601 (N466, 676).
Also, Accra to London on Turkish Airlines is $701 (544,326) while Niamey, Niger Republic to London costs $918 (N712,827).
Apart from Lagos-London, a check on Lagos-Amsterdam on the same Turkish Airlines put the fare at $1,797 while the same route for Accra is $751.
Checks on British Airways, a United Kingdom (UK) carrier, indicate that the Lagos-London one-way economy ticket costs 2,698pounds or N2.7million at the exchange rate of N957 while Accra-London with a longer flight time costs 2,416pounds or N2.4m or 35,958 GHC.
