THE grounding of some domestic airlines in the country for safety reasons has resulted in the exploitation of passengers by the few airlines still operating.

Only three domestic airlines are presently flying, following the grounding of Air Nigeria by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the crash of DANA Air. Apart from these two, Chanchangi Airlines has also packed up.

The three domestic airlines still operating in the country, IRS, Arik and Aero are finding it extremely  tough to cope with the huge demand caused by the sharp increase in passengers’ traffic.

The domestic airlines  have now capitalised on the situation to rip off passengers by illegally jerking up fares.

Reacting to this, the Director-General, NCAA, Dr Harold Demuren, said the few airlines jerked up fares based on the situation on ground.

His words: “ I always discourage monopoly. The fares are high because the existing airlines have taken advantage of the situation.

“Do you pay the same fares when you are travelling for Christmas? It is the principle of demand and supply; nothing more.”

Passengers who are desperate to travel by air now pay as high as N40,000 for a one hour flight.

An airline operator, who confirmed this to the Nigerian Tribune said the airlines were finding it difficult to cope with the increased capacity on the routes, particularly on the Abuja, Port-Harcourt route.

“Demand has outweighed supply. What happens in this type of situation is that there would be adjustment in air fares which may not be announced by the airlines,” the source said.

Aviation analyst, Olumide Ohunayo, said; “The regulatory and voluntary grounding of some airlines have led to the reduction of seats drastically.”