If you are in Kenya and plan to fly from Nairobi to Kisumu anytime between now and December 25th, you should budget $133 (Sh15, 100) for weekdays and $88 (Sh10, 000) for weekends. Business Insider Africa understands that the dramatic increase in airfares is driven by huge demands from people traveling to celebrate the yuletide season.
Prior to this time, air travels during weekdays from Nairobi to Kisumu would have cost you about $60 or Sh6. 800. But with virtually all the routes recording full bookings ahead of Christmas, airlines have decided to take advantage of the situation by hiking rates. Even fares for flights from Nairobi to Eldoret, which was always considered the cheapest, have also increased from an average of $46 (Sh5,300) to $98 (Sh11,100).
“Demand for air travel has gone up and this is what is pushing the prices up. We are fully booked in the coastal routes from December 20th all the way to December 25th,” explained Alex Avedi, the CEO of Nairobi-based Safarilink Aviation Ltd while speaking to Business Daily.
Meanwhile, over in Nigeria, air travelers have lamented over the high ticket costs, especially for flights going to the Eastern part of the country. Apparently, most of the country’s local airlines have sold out their tickets due to huge demands. And much like it is the case in Kenya, the high demands have helped to push up airfares.
Take for instance, while a return ticket in October cost an average of $243 (N100, 000), a one way ticket in December now costs about $268 (N110, 000).
It’s important to note that asides the Christmas frenzy, another factor that is driving up airfares in Africa’s most populous country is insecurity on the highways. In 2021 alone, there has been many incidents of kidnappings along major highways. So, in a bid to avoid that, travelers prefer to fly and this inevitably result in increased demand which invariably cause airfares to rise.
