Nigeria passenger charges

Charges in a Nigerian air ticket

FAAN multiplies its dollar charges by the number of chargeable passengers and the current bar rate, which its page does not state ¹.

The 5 percent ticket sales charge

Section 23 of the Civil Aviation Act, 2022 sets a charge of 5 percent of airfare, contract, charter and cargo sales on all international and domestic air transport originating in Nigeria ². It applies wherever the ticket is sold or issued ². The base is the total amount paid, minus statutory fees and taxes ². The NCAA may let airlines collect it, and they must remit it to the authority ². Directors of an airline that fails to remit face a ₦5,000,000 fine, two years in prison, or both ².

The Act shares the money as follows. The NCAA gets 56 percent, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency 22 percent, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency 9 percent, the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology 7 percent and the Accident Investigation Bureau 6 percent ².

Vanguard reported on 20 July 2026 that a bill which passed second reading in the National Assembly would cut the NCAA share to 40 percent and raise the NAMA share to 40 percent ⁴. NCAA spokesman Michael Achimugu said the authority depends heavily on the charge to fund its regulatory work, as reported by Dickson Omobola ⁴.

Security charge and the APIS charge

Section 51 of the Act says a security surcharge is payable on each passenger ticket for international air travel from Nigeria ². The NCAA sets the amount ².

ICIR reported on 28 October 2025 that the NCAA, with the Nigeria Immigration Service, told airlines to add an Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) charge of US$11.5 to tickets issued from 1 December 2025 ³. It covers all international flights into and out of Nigeria ³. The airline that operates the flight collects it at the point of sale and remits it to the NCAA ³. With the existing US$20 security charge, the security total per ticket rises to US$31.50, according to the report ³.

• Exempt from the APIS charge, as reported: infants, diplomats and crew on duty ³.
• Exempt: passengers in transit or transfer within 24 hours, and passengers rerouted involuntarily ³.

How the charges changed

Daily Trust reported on 26 June 2020 that FAAN raised the passenger service charge from ₦1,000 to ₦2,000 on domestic flights and from US$50 to US$100 on international flights, from 1 August 2020 ⁵. The current FAAN page lists US$100 for flights outside West Africa and US$80 for West African routes ¹.

A ThisDay article of 14 January 2026 said domestic airline customers pay at least 54 charges, fees and taxes across four agencies, and only six are directly visible to passengers ⁶.

Nigeria and the ECOWAS cut

ECOWAS member states agreed to remove air transport taxes and cut passenger and security charges by 25 percent from 1 January 2026 ⁷. Ecofin Agency reported on 29 January 2026 that Nigeria had not published implementing texts ⁷. BusinessDay reported on 15 December 2025 that a 2024 study by the African Airlines Association ranked Nigeria third for the cost of air travel taxes, charges and fees, behind Gabon and Sierra Leone ⁸. The FAAN charges page viewed on 24 October 2026 still lists US$100 and US$80 ¹.

Visa and entry

UK government advice updated on 16 October 2026 says visitors must have a visa and must apply through the online portal at portal.immigration.gov.ng before travel ⁹. It says visa on arrival is no longer available ⁹. The advice does not state visa fees ⁹.