Air Peace Boss Reveals Nigerian Airlines Are Struggling Despite Billions in Ticket Sales

(The Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema. Photo by Nigeria Stories)

The chairman of Air Peace has said that despite the huge sums of money flowing through Nigeria's aviation industry, no local airline has managed to make even $1 million in annual profit.

Allen Onyema was speaking at an aviation conference in Lagos on Thursday.

He said that Air Peace, which is the country's biggest airline by revenue, didn't make $1 million in 2025.

So it's unlikely any other airline is doing better.

His comments come as passengers continue complaining about high ticket prices and blame airlines for the expensive fares.

But Onyema argued that airlines are squeezed by a massive cost structure.

Taxes, regulatory charges, airport fees and fuel costs eat deeply into the money they make from ticket sales.

The airline boss said the government shouldn't view airlines as a direct source of income.

Instead, aviation creates value indirectly by boosting tourism, trade, employment and connectivity.

The aviation industry contributes about $2.5 billion to Nigeria's economy annually and supports over 217,000 jobs.

But Nigerian carriers face dozens of taxes and fees from various agencies.

Six of these are built directly into ticket prices.

Onyema called for scrapping the 5 percent Ticket Sales Charge and suggested a fixed unit charge instead would work better for struggling airlines.

He also wants the government to harmonise all aviation taxes to eliminate duplication and double taxation.

Another industry figure stressed that government revenue and industry growth shouldn't be seen as opposing goals.

A healthy aviation sector ultimately creates a bigger tax base for the government long-term.

The real solution, he said, is for government to focus on making the industry bigger and stronger rather than just extracting money from it today.