Abuja Airport Records Low Passenger Traffic on Christmas Eve

Many domestic airlines at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja on Monday experienced a drop in traffic of passengers and aircraft movement on the eve of Christmas.

Media check revealed a low turnout of passengers due to a hike in prices of air tickets. Booking and check-in counters of all the airlines were very scanty.

The Station Manager of Max Air in Abuja, Mr. Abdullahi Saroke, who spoke to journalists, stated that highest traffic was recorded in the last two days, adding that the eve of Christmas was not always busy especially if it was the beginning of the week.

According to him, "The traffic was heavy last Friday, Saturday and Sunday when most airlines recorded upsurge and had full flights.

He noted that Max Air has had full passengers since last Friday to all destinations but as at this morning (yesterday), "we only had full flights to Yola and Maiduguri, but in and out of Abuja and Lagos has been half load."

He added that many airlines were carrying half load on many routes as at yesterday morning, noting that Max Air had only two full flights to Maiduguri and Yola.

Media check also gathered that the price list of the various airlines revealed that they now charge between N36,000 and N70,000 on economy and N70,000 to N90,000 on business class depending on the time and destination.

Air fare on these routes charged by various airlines before now ranged from N19, 000 to N41,000 depending on the airline and time of booking.