The Director-General of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Farouk Umar, has urged the federal government to review the N11,000 fee currently charged airlines per flight, saying the rate is no longer realistic.
Umar made the call on Tuesday at a retreat in Abuja, organised for members of the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation. The theme of the retreat was “Emerging Trends in Global Aviation: Sustainability, Technology and Digital Transformation.”
The N11,000 fee, which has been in place since 2008, is what airlines pay NAMA per flight — not per passenger. Umar explained that while the price of air tickets has risen dramatically over the years, the agency’s charge has stayed the same.
“In 2008, NAMA was collecting N11,000 per flight. At that time, an economy ticket cost about N16,000. Today, the same ticket is between N150,000 and N200,000, yet we are still collecting N11,000,” Umar said. “We cannot continue this way. We keep modernising to meet global standards, but we are still being paid peanuts. The airlines know this but prefer to ignore the reality.”
The NAMA boss stressed that the agency operates on a cost-recovery basis and has spent heavily on upgrading surveillance, landing, and communication systems to ensure safer air travel in Nigeria.
He also revealed that several attempts to engage airline operators on adjusting the fee had failed.
In his remarks, Abdullahi Garba, chairman of the House Committee on Aviation, said the retreat was aimed at strengthening collaboration to advance Nigeria’s aviation sector. Garba, represented by his deputy, Festus Akingbaso, added that the programme would improve lawmakers’ understanding of airspace management and enhance their oversight role.
