By Suleiman Anyalewechi
The implementation of the new tax reforms law in January ,2026 , will drive the domestic air fare to as much as between N1 million and above.
The excruciating multiplier effects of the new tax regime will ultimately drive industry operators under within one month of the commencement of the implementation of the tax reforms.
These were the grim pictures painted about the Airline Industry, by Allen Onyema the Chairman,
Chief Executive Officer, CEO,o Air Peace Airline ahead of the Federal Government’s planned flag off of the controversial tax reforms law.
Speaking on Sunday December 28,2025 on an Arise TV programme ,Onyema expressed great concern about what he described as a looming crisis of unimaginable proportion in the Airline Industry if the new tax reforms laws are implemented in their present form.
According to him, unless there are urgent review of the new tax regime ,many Nigerians will no longer be able to afford domestic air fares ,a development which he fears will add to the already harsh operating environment for the country’s Airlines.
He noted that ,the industry could begin to collapse under the weight of the new tax reforms law , with big Airlines collapsing within three months.
He insisted that Airlines in the country cannot withstand the pressure likely to be exacted by multiple taxations on their operations.
Onyema maintained that the industry before now had been seriously affected by multiple taxation, levies and other sundry charges which had left operators struggling to survive.
He expressed fears that the new tax regime, if not paused, and reviewed, will pose a grave danger to the survival of the industry.
According to him, over 50 percent of the air fares being collected by Airlines go to the servicing of multiple taxations ,and other levies, leaving the operators with barely a little to survive.
“The Nigerian airlines are heavily overburdened by taxes, levies and all manners of charges. Just take a ticket of about N350,000 for example. What comes to the Airlines at the end of the day is about N81 000 .
“The rest goes to the servicing of multiple taxations. Yet, people are talking about the Airlines as if they are making a kill. It is not true. The truth is that the multiple taxes, levies and charges in the industry is what is driving up air fares and not the alleged tendency for high profit by operators.
“We are suffering multiple taxation, multiple charges. For example, the NCAA charges 5 percent for every ticket sold. Mandatorily that is for the NCAA alone. Yet there are so many of such charges.
“These charges drive up air fares, and ultimately reduce passenger demand, as well as contradict international aviation standard. The International Civil Aviation Organization’s rule favours what is called “cost recovery ,and not revenue generation by regulatory authorities.
“But what we see here is a situation whereby regulatory authorities impose multiple taxations and other sundry charges to generate revenue at the expense of the Airlines survival.
“These multiple taxations and levies are at the root of the high air fares, which people are complaining about”, Onyema noted.
He emphasized the need for industry regulators to revert back to the 2020 Act, which he said truely factored in the challenges facing the industry.
He warned that going ahead with the new tax reforms law without a review could spell doom for the Airlines and in deed the industry as a whole.
According to him, the law could spark a chain reaction within the system including the collapse of airlines, and unprecedented losses by Nigerian banks which have provided funds with aircrafts were acquired.
“If we implement.that tax reforms, Nigerian airlines will go under in one months. Some big ones might go down in three months, and the banks in Nigeria will take a hit, because of what they have invested in the industry.
He, however, expressed the optimism that President Bola Tinubu will surely intervene to save the situation .
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