Airlines operating flights from Nigeria to Europe have slashed ticket prices, thanks to a combination of low travel demand and a stronger naira, BusinessDay reports.
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/idrinstitute.png")
According to the paper, British Airways recently offered a premium economy ticket to London for just $300, with other airlines advertising similar promo fares to boost sales.
The sharp appreciation of the naira — from N1,800–N1,900/$1 last year to about N1,400–N1,500/$1 — has also helped push fares downward. Return economy class tickets from Lagos to London and other European destinations, which cost between N2 million and N3 million in 2024, now range from N1.2 million to N2 million.
“Air fares are driven by exchange rates. Recently the rate has come down a bit. It has been going between N1,400 and N1,500. Also, this is low season and so a lot of airlines are advertising promo fares,” said Susan Akporaiye, former president of the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA), in an interview with BusinessDay.
Akporaiye explained that last year, even after trapped funds were released to airlines, ticket prices stayed high because of the elevated exchange rate. Now, with a more stable naira, lower ticket prices are filtering through — particularly during the current low season when travel demand is weak.
“Whatever ticket price you are seeing that looks cheap must either be a promo fare or because the rate of exchange has stabilised,” she added. “Once we enter the high season, the fares will change.”
A comparison of summer fares for 2024 and 2025 by BusinessDay also showed a modest drop. For example, summer tickets from Lagos to London Gatwick currently cost between N1.5 million and N1.8 million, down from N2 million to N3 million last year. Similar declines were recorded for flights to France, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Brussels.
Business class fares have also eased. Lagos to London Gatwick Business class summer tickets now range between N5 million and N6.2 million, compared to N5 million to N9 million last year.
Alex Nwuba, President of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Nigeria, told BusinessDay that the fare reductions were possible because the European aviation ecosystem is more business-friendly.
“European airlines aren’t charging fares to avoid going bust from the cost of doing business,” Nwuba said. “Europe offers a healthy mix of premium and low-cost airports with varying charges, lower handling charges, lower cost of doing business, and a healthy policy environment, which they can pass onto passengers in the form of low fares. The reverse is clearly the case in Nigeria where airlines are held hostage by the system itself.”
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