United Nigeria Airlines Urges Government to Cut Aviation Taxes, Charges

United Nigeria Airlines has called on the Federal Government to reduce aviation taxes and charges, arguing that lower levies are essential to making air travel more affordable for Nigerians.

Adedayo Olawuyi, the airline’s Chief Commercial Officer, made the appeal during a panel session at the AeroWest conference in Lagos, where he discussed “The Real Cost of Running Aviation Business: Fixing Connectivity, Affordability, FX, Fuel and Border Friction.”

Olawuyi said high charges feed directly into ticket prices, compounding structural problems that already force airlines to sell tickets in naira while covering major expenses in foreign currency.

“Ticket prices reflect deep structural problems in the aviation industry. Airlines sell tickets in naira, but our biggest expenses are in foreign currency. That mismatch forces us to absorb significant losses,” he said.

He outlined a range of cost pressures weighing on domestic carriers: financing at 30 percent interest in a business that yields less than five percent profit; the high cost of pilot training amid a global shortage; aircraft grounded due to lack of crew; maintenance and simulator training paid for in dollars; and jet fuel prices that jumped from N900 in December 2025 to N3,000 in 2026.

“Consider the cost of training a pilot. Pilots today are in high demand and are not cheap to come by. We have airlines in this country with grounded aircraft because there are no pilots available,” Olawuyi said.

He stressed that such costs cannot be cut without compromising safety and called for a more supportive regulatory and fiscal environment.

“All of that must be covered because safety must be paramount. While we are discussing connectivity as a solution, it is not just the airlines alone that can solve the problem. Government needs to create an enabling environment for us,” he said.

Olawuyi also cautioned against treating airlines as an inexhaustible revenue source.

“We all focus on making money from airlines. As my boss says, the airline is the goose that lays the golden egg, and everybody wants a piece of it. But if the goose dies, everything is lost.”

He emphasised that no single stakeholder can fix the sector’s challenges alone, calling for cooperation among government, regulators, airlines, and tourism operators to improve connectivity within West and Central Africa.

On route viability, he said airlines must match aircraft size to market demand.

“West Africa has many thin routes. It becomes challenging to operate on thin markets with an aircraft like a 737 when the maximum number of passengers available on that route is only four.”