By Abubakar Yunusa
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission on Thursday said it had uncovered patterns of price manipulation by some local airlines during the December 2025 festive season.
The Commission disclosed this in an interim report released by its Surveillance and Investigations Department following an industry-wide probe announced in January.
In a statement signed by its Director of Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu, the agency said the forensic review relied on data obtained from domestic carriers operating across the country.
According to the report, a comparative analysis of fares during the December peak and the post-peak period of January 2026 showed that ticket prices were materially higher in the festive window.
The Commission noted that the increase occurred despite relative stability in key operating costs such as aviation fuel, government taxes and foreign exchange rates.
It said the discrepancies appeared to reflect pricing decisions, including yield management and capacity allocation, rather than changes in regulatory charges.
Route-level findings indicated that higher fares coincided with reduced seat availability during predictable seasonal demand surges.
On some high-density routes, peak fares were said to have clustered within narrow price bands across several operators.
For instance, fares on the Abuja–Port Harcourt corridor were several times higher during the festive rush compared to post-peak levels. On selected routes, the price gap for a single ticket reportedly reached about ₦405,000.
Median fares across sampled routes also rose sharply during the festive season when benchmarked against January prices.
However, the Commission acknowledged that seasonal demand pressure, fleet utilisation and scheduling constraints could influence pricing during peak travel periods.
Commenting on the report, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the FCCPC, Tunji Bello, said the exercise formed part of the agency’s statutory mandate to promote competition and protect consumers.
He said, “This assessment is intended to provide clarity on pricing behaviour during predictable peak travel periods. The Commission’s role is not to disrupt legitimate commercial activity, but to ensure that market outcomes remain consistent with competition and consumer protection principles under the law.”
Bello stressed that the document was interim and that further structural and route-level analysis was ongoing before any final decision would be taken.
He added that subsequent steps, including possible regulatory guidance or enforcement measures, would be based strictly on established facts and in line with the law.
The report also referenced relevant provisions of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018 bordering on restraint of competition, abuse of dominance, price-fixing and unfair contract terms.
Meanwhile, Bello disclosed that foreign airlines would be reviewed after the conclusion of the local carriers’ investigation, following complaints over fare disparities on certain international routes.
