Nigerian private jets, charters now face $3,000 takeoff tax

Getting ready to travel for family get-togethers this holiday season? If you're flying, you'll likely be paying some airline fees.

But one thing you can be very thankful for this coming Thursday is that your trip didn't involve a private jet flight out of Nigeria.

The Nigeria Airspace Management Agency is now collecting $3,000 from foreign-registered charter aircraft and $2,500 from locally registered charter planes for each round trip. Some media outlets are reporting the tax will cost some private jets as much as $4,000 per flight.

Nigeria is one of the leading private jet markets, according to Ventures, rivaling the United State, United Kingdom and China as countries that top bombardier aircraft orders. The tax will primarily hit the country's super rich, reports a Nigerian news magazine, who use their jets three to four times in a week.

Nigeria's luxury aviation tax is expected to raise around $201 million (U.S. dollars) from affected aircraft owners and operators.

In the wake of the tax's implementation, private jet operators last week suspended services.

"Such charges are not done anywhere in the world," one charter flight operator told eTN Global Travel Industry News. "By introducing these charges they are just killing Nigeria's economy and this means that foreigners that come to Nigeria should have a cash of $6,000 to pay as charges. Nigeria should join the league of modern world."

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