Relief for Air travelers in Nigeria

• As removal VAT crashes fares

Travelers using Airlines in Nigeria may soon be getting relief on their expenses as the removal of Value Added Tax (VAT) from domestic air travel charges by the Federal Government would reduce airfares in the country.

National Daily gathered that President Muhammadu Buhari had at the commissioning of the new terminal of Port Harcourt International Airport, Rivers State, noted the decision by the Federal Government to remove VAT from domestic air transportation charges in line with global best practices of making air transportation affordable. The decision was said to be capable of creating more job opportunities in the air transport service value chain.

The president was also of the view that the removal of VAT will also increase revenue for the government with more traffic at the airports.

However, the removal of VAT would only cut off part of the additional costs of traveling by air in the country. Some stakeholders still advocate total review of airfares in the country to effect remarkable reduction in charges by certain agencies in the aviation sector, which they argued have been leaving airline operators with little finds to meet their operational costs and maintenance.