The House of Representatives on Thursday asked the Federal Government to grant immediate tax waivers to airlines in a bid to reduce flight fares during the Yuletide season.

Lawmakers also called for a 50 percent reduction in auxiliary charges within the aviation industry.

The resolution came after a debate on the soaring cost of flight fares. However, the lawmakers rejected proposals to subsidize airline tickets.

On Tuesday, the Senate summoned the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, and other stakeholders over rising flight tickets.

Senator Buhari Abdulfatai from Oyo State, who led the debate, told lawmakers that Nigerians have been complaining about the rising cost of domestic flight tickets in recent months.

Abdulfatai disclosed that a one-way ticket from Abuja to Lagos now costs between N400,000 and N600,000, an amount many citizens can no longer afford.

“We need to invite stakeholders of our airline agencies to interact and interrogate the issues. Immediate steps must be taken before the festive period,” he said during plenary.

Other lawmakers, including Senator Adamu Aliero, echoed a similar sentiment.

Aliero described the fare increase as unacceptable, while Senator Onyekachi Nwebonyi condemned what he tagged an unheard-of 400 percent increment. (Channels)

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