FCCPC probes fare fixing by local airlines
FCCPC probes fare fixing by local airlines after the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission said an interim forensic review of domestic ticket pricing uncovered patterns of price manipulation during the December 2025 festive travel peak, raising fresh concerns about consumer exploitation and competition in Nigeria’s aviation market.
In a statement signed by FCCPC’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu, the Commission said it collated pricing data directly from local airlines and compared fares charged during the December rush with post-peak prices recorded in January 2026. The Commission’s early conclusion: December fares on several routes were “materially higher” even though key operating variables such as aviation fuel, government taxes and foreign exchange were described as relatively stable over the period under review.
That gap, FCCPC argues, makes it harder to justify the spike purely on costs and strengthens the basis for its investigation. This is the backbone of the story: FCCPC probes fare fixing by local airlines not because airfares rose, but because the pattern of the rise may suggest something beyond normal market dynamics.
What FCCPC says it found
According to the interim findings reported across multiple outlets, FCCPC’s review suggests the differences in ticket prices “appear to reflect airlines’ arbitrary pricing decisions,” including yield management and capacity allocation, rather than any change in regulatory fees or other external pressures.
The Commission pointed to high-density routes as examples, including the Abuja–Port Harcourt corridor, where peak fares were reportedly several times higher than corresponding post-peak levels. On selected routes, FCCPC said, the price difference for a single ticket reached about ₦405,000.
Those numbers help explain why FCCPC probes fare fixing by local airlines has landed with such force among travellers. Nigerians already complain that domestic air travel increasingly feels like a luxury reserved for emergencies. Now, a regulator is saying the pricing behaviour may not be fully explained by cost.
Why this probe matters
Beyond the headlines, the FCCPC’s move is significant because it sits at the intersection of two fragile realities:
- Nigeria’s aviation sector is under intense operational strain, and
- Consumers feel trapped by fares that can jump sharply during peak periods.
BusinessDay reports that the Commission had earlier announced an industry-wide investigation in January after widespread public complaints about airfare costs during peak travel windows. The interim review now appears to be the first public “snapshot” of what the regulator says its data is showing.
So when FCCPC probes fare fixing by local airlines, it is also a test of whether competition law can meaningfully shape pricing behaviour in a sector where capacity constraints, maintenance cycles, and currency volatility often squeeze operators.
The legal angle: FCCPC is hinting at sanctions
The Nation reports that FCCPC’s review flagged potential relevance of provisions of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018 covering anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominance, the offence of price-fixing, conspiracy, fair dealing and unfair contract terms.
In practical terms, that’s FCCPC signalling it is not just “monitoring,” but building a record that could support enforcement actions if the probe hardens into specific findings.
This is not FCCPC’s first contact with the sector on coordinated pricing concerns. In 2022, FCCPC published an interim statement about a “coordinated” increase in air fares by some domestic operators and said it issued interim orders to halt conduct linked to agreements or arrangements around fare increases pending investigation.
That history matters because FCCPC probes fare fixing by local airlines now is being read as a continuation of an older regulatory battle: where does legitimate commercial pricing end and unlawful coordination begin?
https://ogelenews.ng/fccpc-probes-fare-fixing-by-local-airlines
Airlines push back: “This is interference”
Domestic airlines, speaking through the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), have challenged FCCPC’s posture. Vanguard reports AON raised concerns that the Commission’s intervention in ticket pricing could harm the survival of domestic operators.
BusinessDay also reports airline operators blasted the regulator, disputing the price-fixing suggestion and arguing that aviation economics is more complex than a simple December-versus-January comparison.
This pushback is central to the story. If FCCPC probes fare fixing by local airlines leads to sanctions, airlines will likely argue that what passengers call exploitation is, in reality, the cost of staying airborne in a harsh operating environment: aircraft leasing and maintenance, FX exposure, insurance, spares, airport charges, and the limits of fleet availability at peak demand.
What Nigerians should watch next
For travellers, the next phase is less about outrage and more about outcomes:
- Will FCCPC publish clearer route-by-route evidence and identify the specific conduct it believes crossed the line?
- Will airlines provide audited cost explanations that can be tested against FCCPC’s data claims?
- Will the regulator move from interim review to formal enforcement, and under what sections of the FCCPA?
For now, the most accurate framing remains the headline itself: FCCPC probes fare fixing by local airlines. It is an investigation with interim findings, not a final judgment. But it is also a warning shot to an industry that has been largely free to explain away December fare spikes as “peak season normal.”
https://punchng.com/fccpc-probes-fare-fixing-by-local-airlines
