Nigerian Aviation on the Brink: Air Peace Boss Sounds Alarm Over Crushing Taxes and Fuel Crisis
The Nigerian aviation industry is teetering on the edge of collapse, with mounting taxes, soaring jet fuel costs, and punishing borrowing rates pushing carriers to breaking point. This warning has come from Allen Onyema, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, who has urged Nigerian President Bola Tinubu to urgently intervene before more airlines fold. The situation offers important lessons for the broader African travel trade, as similar pressures threaten aviation sustainability across the continent.
Speaking during a television interview, Onyema described local carriers as "dead on arrival" under prevailing conditions. At the centre of his concerns is the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC), which he argues is unsustainable in an industry where profit margins rarely exceed that figure. He is calling on the Nigerian presidency to set up an Aviation Taxes and Charges Review Committee to examine the more than 50 levies currently burdening operators.
The global ripple effects of the ongoing Middle East conflict involving Israel, Iran, and the United States are deepening the crisis. Jet fuel prices have surged worldwide, compelling even major international carriers to cancel thousands of flights. For Nigerian operators, the situation is far worse. Jet-A1 accounts for roughly 30 per cent of an airline's total operating cost, and many carriers are now borrowing heavily from banks simply to keep aircraft in the air. The cost of that borrowing is staggering: while foreign airlines secure financing at three to four per cent interest, Nigerian operators face rates as steep as 33 per cent.
To survive, several carriers have trimmed flight frequencies, a development that has direct consequences for travel businesses across West Africa and beyond, particularly those relying on regional connectivity for tourism packages, corporate travel, and trade routes. Onyema, who also serves as Vice President of the Airline Operators of Nigeria, lamented that more than 70 airlines have come and gone in Nigeria, giving the country what he described as the highest airline mortality rate globally.
Amid the gloom, he offered a word of praise for industrialist Aliko Dangote and the Dangote Refinery, noting that the facility currently supplies the most affordable aviation fuel available in the market. However, he placed blame squarely on middlemen in the fuel distribution chain, accusing them of inflating prices before the product reaches airline operators — a structural challenge that mirrors fuel supply bottlenecks experienced in several other African aviation markets.
Onyema welcomed observations by the International Air Transport Association describing Nigeria as one of the world's most challenging environments for airline operations. He commended efforts by President Tinubu and Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo to establish an aircraft leasing company under the Cape Town Convention framework, a move that could lower the cost of fleet acquisition. Yet he insisted that meaningful tax reform remains the most pressing priority.
Addressing recent passenger frustrations over an Air Peace disruption at London Gatwick Airport, he attributed the incident to a bird strike and confirmed that affected travellers had been hosted at the Hilton Hotel near the airport. He emphasised that the airline refuses to compromise on safety, even at significant commercial cost.
Onyema also pushed back against what he called unfair cyberbullying of Nigerian carriers, signalling that Air Peace will pursue legal remedies against those spreading falsehoods. On the chronic issue of delays, he was firm: roughly 97 per cent of flight delays and cancellations stem from force majeure factors such as weather, infrastructure shortcomings, and bird strikes — not deliberate airline action.
For Africa's travel industry, the Nigerian experience is a cautionary signal. As governments across the continent shape aviation policy in the coming years, the balance between taxation and sustainability will determine whether local carriers thrive or vanish, and whether the continent's tourism ambitions can truly take flight.
