The Nigerian Senate has asked the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) to suspend the new charges it imposed on private airline operators in the country.

The Senate committee on Aviation gave this directive after a meeting with the management of NAMA and airline operators at the National Assembly on Monday.

Members of the committee asked the agency to ensure that proper consultation with relevant operators was done before setting fresh charges.

Nigerian airline operators at the meeting with the Senate committee described the new price regime as unpatriotic and discriminatory.

According to the new regime of charges rolled out by NAMA in August, foreign airline operators engaged in non-scheduled operations would pay $4,000 for every flight departure while Nigerian airliners engaged in non-scheduled operations would pay $3,000.

However, the agency later reviewed the charges downward in November, saying foreign airliners departing Nigeria would henceforth pay $3, 000 while local aircraft on non-scheduled operations would pay $2,500.

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