When the price of an airline ticket goes higher, it’s usually because of Jet A1 prices, changing foreign exchange rates, or changing operational costs.
But in Nigeria today, there is another growing problem: the growing number of taxes and fees that the government imposes.
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has told airlines that starting on December 1, 2025, they will have to pay an extra $11.50 per international ticket for the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS), according to Daily Independent.
The agency added that the charge would be collected at the moment of sale and sent to the issuing carrier.
For a lot of travelers, the new cost is only the latest in a long series of taxes and levies that make the price of a ticket significantly different when they check out.
The ticket taxes add up to a lot of money. Now, a typical international traveler going to or from Nigeria has to pay a lot of extra fees, which usually include:
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) charges a Passenger Service Charge (PSC), which is often around $100 for international passengers from non-West African nations and $80 for passengers from West African countries.
The current NCAA security levy is a long-standing fee that was usually $20 per international ticket before the APIS hike.
Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) is a fee that is also charged to passengers and is a percentage of the ticket price (approximately 5 percent).
The NCAA’s new APIS price is $11.50 more starting on December 1, 2025.
Independent analysts argue that when you add up all the fees, airline surcharges, and foreign exchange-driven pricing rises, the total cost for a Nigerian citizen traveling worldwide can be close to or over $150 per ticket. That number means that Nigeria is one of the most expensive places in Africa to fly with taxes.
The NCAA believes that the APIS fee is a way to improve security and manage the border. The data acquired through the system will be used to pre-screen travelers and make it easier for authorities to work together at airports.
The authorities also said that the fee is meant to help the system pay for its upkeep and operation. The tax is supposed to last for 20 years.
Even with that reason, the math and the accountability make me very worried. Based on existing passenger traffic data, several sources estimated that the NCAA could collect about $46–49 million per year from the APIS levy. Over 20 years, this would add up to almost $1 billion (estimates usually range from $989 million to $1.0 billion, depending on exchange-rate assumptions).
Those amounts are important since they are much bigger than most single-year budgets that are commonly talked about in the aviation sector.
Our reporter spent a few hours at Lagos’s Murtala Muhammed International Airport talking to travelers about what the extra tax meant for people on the ground.
Their voices show how angry and confused many people are who already have to be careful with their trip budgets:
“I’m going to my sister’s graduation,” remarked a young man as he stood in line to check in.
“That extra $11.50 may not seem like much, but when you add it to the PSC and the airport taxes, it becomes a second ticket.” “It’s not fair.”
A businesswoman on her way to London informed our reporter, “We pay VAT, ticket fees, and security fees, and now this.” You feel like you’re being charged just for being.
A couple of old people who were coming back from vacation said, “Pensioners travel on small budgets.” We had to cancel once since the price of airfare went up. These taxes are making travel a luxury.
A student with a backpack said plainly, “If prices keep going up, young people will stop going abroad to study or work.” This is a bad idea.
Those intimate photos show that the discussion is not only about money; it’s also about society and the economy. Higher ticket prices could lead to fewer people traveling outside of West Africa, which would send more transit traffic to other West African hubs and put more pressure on airlines that are already struggling to make ends meet. Several airlines and industry experts have said that stacking taxes make flying less competitive and could make people choose to fly through neighboring countries with lower taxes.
The main issue is accountability, not the burden on travelers. The NCAA has set the tax to last for 20 years, which is a long period for something that is supposed to help pay for things.
Our correspondent asked the regulator how the money will be set aside. What rules for governance, auditing, and public reporting will help decide how the money is spent? Will the levy be looked at every so often to see how many passengers there are and how much it costs to administer the APIS? Who will be in charge of buying things for the system? So far, no one has answered those questions.
Our reporter tried to get a statement from the NCAA, but they hadn’t heard back by the time this was published.
There are other, more specific questions that need clear solutions.
For example, there is overlap and duplication: How would APIS work with current security measures and the duties of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and other groups? Is the goal really to streamline things if several agencies examine passenger data, or is it just to collect more fees?
Equity and exemptions: The NCAA email says that babies, diplomats, and crew are not affected. Will there be other types of relief, such as for students or Nigerians living abroad who need medical care? How will exemptions be handled to prevent abuse?
Economic impact modeling: What outside research was employed to look at how the levy affected passenger demand, airline routing choices, and the larger tourism and expatriate remittances sectors?
Transparency for the 20-year term: A collecting strategy that lasts for 20 years needs continual, extensive public reporting, not simply a single letter. Will the NCAA put up yearly receipts, audited records, and updates on projects?
Both industry groups and passengers have said that additional taxes should only be put in place after talking to a lot of people, making sure there are clear transparency safeguards, and showing that they will make things more efficient.
Several airline executives told other news sources that blanket tariffs are blunt tools that can backfire by punishing regular passengers and sending traffic away from local airports.
In principle, the NCAA’s goal of a single-window data system and better border security is not contentious. APIS or similar systems are used by a lot of countries. The Rubicon for public acceptability is whether people can see the value for money and whether there is independent control of revenue collection.
In the past, Nigeria’s aviation industry has had trouble with unclear project funding and poor follow-up on promises to improve facilities. This time, people will decide whether it follows old trends or breaks them.
For now, travelers will still have to wait in line to buy tickets.
The NCAA’s new $11.50 fee is minor on its own, but when added to the PSC, TSC, and other fees, it helps explain why the real cost of flying from Nigeria is always greater than many passengers think it will be.
If the regulator wants people to trust a 20-year revenue plan, the solution is simple in theory but hard in practice: publish the numbers, open the books, answer the questions, and show, clearly and often, how the money improves security and service instead of just adding to accounts. Until then, the price will seem less like a security upgrade and more like another hidden cost on travel.
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