High cost of air ticket on Nigeria- South Africa route has scuttled the plans of many Nigerians resident in the country to travel home for the Christmas.

Some of them, who spoke to newsmen in Johannesburg, said they were disappointed at the high cost of fare, which in some cases went up by more than 200 per cent.

“It is unbelievable that the cost of ticket between Johannesburg and Lagos now goes for as much as  2,000 Rand which would be about N300, 000, the same ticket you could get for less than  700 Rand or less (N120.000.00),” Dotun Olubadejo a medical doctor told reporters.

He said apart from the high cost of the ticket it was also difficult to secure a seat for the return journey, which would be risky if one was to resume work immediately after the holiday.

‘’Having weighed all the options, I decided to celebrate the Christmas here, ’’ Olubadejo said.

Chidi Okereke, a businessman, also said that some of the airline operators were exploiting the desperation of intending travellers to extort money from them.

“My brother, it is tough, if you are desperate to travel to Nigeria now you have to pay extra, some airline operators are making money out this situation.

“It is either they tell you that there is no seat the day you want to go or no seat the day you want to come back. But once you offer to pay them something extra they will make seat available on the days you want. So, if you want travel, you have to play ball.

“It is mandatory for some of us to travel either for family engagement or for the feeling of being with your people during the festive period.

“Some people save money for this annually. In my own case I have to go because I will turn 40 on December 28, and I just completed my house in the village to mark my birthday,’’ Okereke said.

Paul Ajuluchukwu, said he was eager to travel with his South African wife to meet his family in Nigeria for the first time.

“I have been in this country for about 10 years now and I married a South African two years ago, and she wants to meet my people at home.

“Christmas period is the best time for me to take her and my children home because every member of my family will be home for Christmas and that will provide her the opportunity to know about my culture.

“But the price I’m paying is too much, all my savings for the year is going into this, due to high cost of tickets. The airfare for the four of us including the children is about N800, 000. 00.

‘’What do I do, I had promised my family that we will all celebrate Christmas in Nigeria,’’ Ajuluchwu said.

An officer at the Nigerian Consulate in Johannesburg, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they received more than 1,000 applications for visas and other travel-related documents between October and December.

“We have been working round the clock since October trying to make sure that Nigerians or non Nigerians willing to travel during the Christmas period are not denied the opportunity.

“Some Nigerians coming to the Consulate are here for either loss of their passports or renewals. We ensure that we attend to those of them with genuine requests,” he said.

Meanwhile, business and commercial activities in Johannesburg and Pretoria are paralysed because of the Christmas celebrations as all the shops and offices were closed except a few restaurants that remained open for business.

Some of the residents of Johannesburg who spoke to our source said that Christmas was very important to South Africans.

“They don’t joke with Christmas in South Africa. It is a big thing here, the whole of the city is almost empty as you can see for yourself. They have all gone home. People have been leaving Johannesburg for their villages about two weeks before Christmas,’’ Alfred Luke a resident of Johannesburg said.

Reports say that there has also been an increase in the number of road accidents following mass movement of people going to celebrate Christmas in their villages.

According to the Department of Transport more than 800 lives had been lost as a result of road accidents since the beginning of December.