By Progress Godfrey
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) said it has established evidence of price manipulation by some domestic airlines during the December 2025 festive travel season, following an industry-wide review of airfare trends.
Disclosing this yesterday Commission’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu, said this was part of the findings from a forensic analysis conducted by the Commission’s Department of Surveillance and Investigations, using pricing data obtained from the airlines.
FCCPC launched the investigation in January, amid public complaints over sharp airfare increases during the Yuletide season.
According to the FCCPC’s interim report preliminary analysis shows that airfares during the festive window were significantly higher across several routes, despite relative stability in key cost drivers such as aviation fuel prices, government charges and foreign exchange rates.
It stated: “The differences observed in fares therefore appear to reflect airlines’ arbitrary pricing decisions, including yield management and capacity allocation, rather than any variation in regulatory fees.
“Route-level analysis shows that higher fares coincided with periods of reduced seat availability during predictable seasonal demand peaks. On some high density routes, peak fares were clustered within relatively narrow ranges across several operators.
“For instance, on certain corridors like Abuja-Port Harcourt, peak fares were several times higher than corresponding post-peak levels. On selected routes, the difference in the price of a single ticket reached approximately N405,000. Median fares across the sampled routes also rose markedly during the festive window when compared with post-peak benchmarks.”
The Commission, however, said the interim report also acknowledges that factors such as seasonal demand pressures, scheduling limitations and fleet utilisation can influence airline pricing during peak periods. These considerations, the FCCPC noted, are still being examined as part of the ongoing review.
Commenting on the report, Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FCCPC, Mr Tunji Bello, said the exercise aligns with the Commission’s statutory mandate to promote competition and protect consumers.
He stated: “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.”
Source; Vanguard News