“Unfair trade practices hamper growth of air transport in Nigeria”

The National Association of Nigerian Travel Agents (NANTA) and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) have expressed concerns over the generation of tickets outside the country for flights originated in Nigeria.

Tickets generated outside the country’s shores are described as Sold Outside Tickets (SOTO) or Sold Outside Tickets Issued Inside (SOTI), even though international carriers have all released their lower ticket stocks for the Nigerian market.

They are also concerned about the trend of domestic and foreign airlines having ticket sales points beyond airports; a situation they say has negatively impacted the business of travel agents in Nigeria.

They described the cross-border stock trading of foreign airlines, which has impacted Nigeria’s travel economy, as a monster that must be tackled head-on and destroyed.

The situation, many said, has affected the revenue that is supposed to go to travel agencies and the country in the form of taxes, thus affecting the survival of many travel agencies.

A plane ticket, a SOTO (Sold Inside Ticketed Outside), Sold Outside Ticketed Inside (SOTI) or Sold Inside Ticketed Inside (SITI) makes a big difference in fares.

Due to special fare rules and regulations, tickets sold outside the country of origin (SOTO) will incur additional fees. For example, if a British traveler purchases their ticket in the UK but is traveling from New York to Los Angeles, it will be a SOTO ticket.

Depending on the location of these operations in relation to the origin of the traveler, the tickets can also be SITI, SITO or SOTI, specifying inside or outside.

What these agencies based outside Nigeria do, according to a travel expert who spoke to New Telegraph, is that they prefer to issue tickets from Nigeria, pay in Nigerian currency, the naira, but collect dollars from their customers.

The Acting Vice President of FCCPC, Alhaji Adamu Abdullahi, said the trend, if left unchecked, was dangerous, worrisome and posed an economic threat to Nigerians, adding that it must be stopped before it negatively affected the plight of Nigerian travellers and the livelihoods of Nigerian tourism professionals by causing job losses and frustrating efforts to stop capital flight from Nigeria.

The FCCPC boss, who was speaking in Abuja during a courtesy visit by the Chairman and Executive Council of NANTA to his office, assured members of the tour operator trade group that his agency would tackle the monster head on and restore sanity to a seemingly dysfunctional travel industry.

He also expressed concern over the incessant flight delays and cancellations that have marred the joy of air travel in Nigeria.

“We will be very thorough in this and other notable breaches in the aviation sector, particularly in relation to airline operators who treat passengers as if they do not matter.

“It is sad to cancel or delay flights without carrying passengers, and if you have to cancel flights or cause a delay beyond a reasonable time, that operator must show us evidence of operational difficulties,” he said.

Abdullahi commended the leadership of NANTA for their foresight in engaging and partnering with FCCPC to enthrone equity and fair play in the Nigerian travel economy, noting that a technical committee would be set up by the Commission to work out the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with NANTA to help sustain the relationship.

According to him, “NANTA has demonstrated its capacity and technical know-how on how best to organize and manage the tourism market, and we at FCCPC can only encourage this patriotic zeal by being partners in maintaining a credible and efficient business climate, responsive to global expectations and regulations in force in the industry.

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