Airline operators seek scrapping of 5% ticket sales charge
August 6, 2026 9:38 pm
The Airline Operators of Nigeria has called on the National Assembly to abolish the controversial five per cent Ticket Sales Charge, insisting that the levy has become a major financial burden on domestic airlines and should be replaced with a flat-rate model similar to the Passenger Service Charge collected by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria.
The airline operators said this charge has outlived its usefulness.
The association made the call on Thursday at a public hearing on the proposed review of the statutory sharing formula for the five per cent TSC at the House of Representatives.
Representing the AON, former Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Roland Iyayi, said the existing percentage-based charge no longer reflects the realities of the aviation industry.
“The 5% service charge has outlived its usefulness. It has become a burden on domestic airlines,” Iyayi told lawmakers.
According to his position paper made available to journalists, the AON had already submitted a comprehensive proposal on aviation funding reforms, insisting that replacing the percentage levy with a fixed charge, similar to FAAN’s passenger service charge, would create a level playing field for all airlines.
He said, “Rather than charging a percentage, we recommend adopting a structure similar to the one FAAN uses for the passenger service charge, because that creates a level playing field. Right now, the 5% is charged on everything an airline earns.”
Linking the appeal to the industry’s worsening operating costs, Iyayi said airlines had struggled to remit the charge to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority since March due to soaring aviation fuel prices.
“Since March, domestic airlines have not been able to pay the 5 per cent to the NCAA. We have managed to remit only because domestic airlines are now taking on charter flights rather than continuing scheduled flights. Essentially, ticket revenue is now going straight into fuel costs. Fuel accounts for 40 per cent of an airline’s operating costs,” he added.
He noted that while global fuel prices rose by between 60 and 80 per cent, Nigerian airlines faced increases of about 270 per cent, leaving operators under severe financial pressure.
Beyond the TSC, the AON accused the NCAA of collecting aviation-related charges without delivering the infrastructure needed to improve airline operations.
According to Iyayi, the authority collects fees on telecommunications masts and other structures to enable NAMA to produce low-level navigation charts, yet such charts are still unavailable, limiting aircraft utilisation across the country.
He further alleged that the NCAA had generated more than N10bn from mast application fees and similar charges over the past two decades without corresponding improvements in navigational infrastructure.
He stated, “As we speak, helicopters in this country cannot conduct low-level flight at night because we lack low-level navigation charts. Aircraft that could be flying eight to 10 hours a day are used for only about six hours because of inadequate infrastructure.
“This practice by the NCAA needs to be reversed. It is understood that over the last 20 years, the NCAA has collected over N10 billion from mast application fees and similar charges. That needs to be reversed.”
While supporting the proposal to increase NAMA’s share of the TSC, the AON urged lawmakers to adopt broader reforms by removing aviation revenues from the Treasury Single Account and creating a dedicated Aviation Development Fund to finance critical infrastructure and sectoral development.
According to the association, such a fund would pool aviation revenues for reinvestment in the industry, arguing that the sector generates enough surplus to sustain itself.
Akinlotan is a journalist at Punch Newspapers with over eight years of experience reporting on politics, social justice, motoring, railways, and aviation. His work focuses on accountability, public interest, and social change, producing stories that inspire reform and amplify underrepresented voices. Akinlotan’s reporting reflects extensive newsroom experience, editorial insight, and a strong commitment to accurate, impact-driven journalism.
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