Naija Travelers Dey Cry as Flight Prices Hit Roof This Easter

Photo: Financial Post

My people, if you dey plan to travel abroad this Easter season, e be like say you better sit down first before you hear this gist. The international flight prices don enter space, and na our pocket go feel am well well!

Wetin Dey Happen for the Skies?

The whole wahala start when tension begin rise between different countries for Middle East and Asia region. You know how e dey be when big countries start to dey beef themselves - small countries like us na we go feel the heat pass. Airlines don begin avoid certain routes, and the ones wey still dey fly dey charge us like we wan buy the plane itself!

For Nigerian travelers wey dey plan Easter trip to go see family for Europe, America or Asia, the story don change totally. Flight wey you fit buy for ₦800,000 before, now dey go for ₦1.5 million or even ₦2 million. Some routes don even double their prices overnight!

Our Diaspora Brothers and Sisters Dey Feel Am

The thing wey pain me pass be say our people for diaspora - those ones wey dey hustle for UK, US, Germany, and other countries - them dey seriously consider whether to come home for Easter at all. Imagine say you dey work for London, you don plan to spend Easter with mama and papa for Lagos, then flight price just jump from £600 to £1,200. Shey na your whole month salary you wan use buy ticket?

One guy for Twitter dey complain yesterday say him don cancel him Easter trip because the flight from Dubai to Lagos wey suppose cost him AED2,500 now dey ask for AED4,800. That one na almost double o! Him say make him use the money buy land for village instead.

Remittances Don Reduce as People Dey Calculate

You see that money wey our people for abroad dey send come home every month? E don reduce small small because people dey save money for these expensive flights. When flight prices high like this, our diaspora people go think twice before them send that extra ₦100,000 home. After all, them fit need that money for emergency travel.

Some travel agents for Lagos don tell me say people wey book flights for March and April don start to dey cancel. The ones wey no cancel dey look for alternative routes - instead of direct flight, them dey accept to stop for 2-3 countries if e go save them money. But even with all these stop-overs, the prices still dey mad!

Easter Plans Don Scatter

For families wey get people abroad, this Easter planning don turn to serious mathematics. Instead of everybody coming home, maybe na only one or two people go fit afford the trip. Some families don even decide say make them shift the family reunion to December when hopefully things go calm down.

• Lagos to London flights don increase by almost 80%
• Abuja to Dubai routes now cost double the normal price
• Asian routes (especially to China and Japan) don become luxury travel
• Even West African routes dey cost more as airlines dey recalculate their pricing

Travel Agencies Dey Struggle Too

Travel agents for Nigeria dey tell their customers to book early, but with prices changing every day, even early booking no guarantee anything. Some agents don start to dey offer payment plans - you fit pay small small over 3 months instead of paying everything at once.

One travel agent for Ikeja tell me say, "Customer go call me for morning, I go give am price. Same customer go call back for evening, the price don increase by ₦200,000. People think say we dey do them, but na the airlines dey increase price every hour."

Wetin We Fit Do?

For now, if you must travel, try dey flexible with your dates. Sometimes, flying on Tuesday instead of Friday fit save you plenty money. Also, consider alternative airports - instead of flying direct to Heathrow, you fit land for Manchester and take train.

Some people don start to dey use road and sea transport where possible. For West African trips, the buses and boats dey look attractive again. Though e go take longer time, your money go remain for your pocket.

As we dey wait make this whole international tension calm down, we just dey hope say by June or July, flight prices go come back to earth. Until then, na video call we go dey use greet our people for abroad this Easter!