Adedayo Olawuyi, the Chief Commercial Officer of United Nigeria Airlines, has urged the Federal Government to reduce aviation charges and taxes as intervention to make air travel more affordable.
Speaking as a panelist during the AeroWest conference held in Lagos on Wednesday with topic: “The Real Cost of Running Aviation Business: Fixing Connectivity, Affordability, FX, Fuel and Border Friction,” Olawuyi said that domestic airlines require lower aviation charges because high charges increases the cost of tickets, and that tax reduction is a critical intervention needed to improve air travel affordability.
Olawuyi explained that ticket prices reflect deep structural problems in the aviation industry as airlines sell tickets in naira, while their biggest expenses are in foreign currency. He said this mismatch is what forces airlines to absorb significant losses. “How many of you would take a loan of 30% to invest in a business that gives you less than 5% profit? That is a pressing issue for airlines in Africa, specifically in Nigeria, the cost of financing.
“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. The airline executive also said that the absence of maintenance and repair facilities has forced additional foreign currency expenditures. “Consider maintenance: we have to send aircraft abroad because we do not have MROs in this region.
We are also spending on simulator training for pilots, meaning we earn Naira but spend USD,” Olawuyi explained. On the issue of fuel prices, he said it represent another significant burden that airlines pass to consumers. He said airlines went from buying fuel at N900 in December 2025 to N3,000 in 2026. He said this llustrates the cost of operations