BREAKING NEWS: Airline Operators To Shut down Due To Aviation Fuel Cost

The crisis over aviation fuel known as Jet A1 appears to have no end in sight, with the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) raising concerns that three airlines may soon cease operations.

Although the three airlines were not identified, Mr Allen Onyema, Vice-President of AON, acknowledged that the gasoline price has now reached an all-time high of N714 per litre.

Several initiatives by the Federal Government and the National Assembly have failed to address the situation, according to the Daily Trust, as the price of Jet A1 continues to rise.

While the aviation fuel problem is not exclusive to Nigeria, Onyema claimed it was exacerbated by the naira-to-dollar exchange rate during his presentation at the ongoing Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) National Aviation Conference (FNAC) in Abuja.

He revealed that the Federal Government had approved 10,000 metric tonnes of aviation fuel for the airlines to handle the problem, but that the airlines had yet to receive it.

He pointed out that the price of aviation fuel was around N200 per litre 16 months ago, but has since climbed to above N700 per litre on the local market.

He said: “That is why we ran to the government and the Federal Government has given us about 10,000 metric tonnes of fuel at the cost of N580 per litre in Lagos and about N607 per litre outside Lagos.

“This is not the only issue. Since the COVID-19 crisis, most airlines all over the world, including Nigeria have not recovered from COVID-19, except those whose countries have injected so much funds to assist them. This is nobody’s fault. It just happened. The government has tried its best by giving us this aviation fuel. This aviation fuel can take airlines out, not only in Nigeria but everywhere in the world.

“Some airlines outside Nigeria have closed down because of the effects of rising aviation fuel. If these things are not addressed in Nigeria, it can affect the bottom line of all airlines in Nigeria.

“We have come to realize that there is little or nothing the committee set up can do because this is as a result of foreign exchange and the price of oil all over the world now. The fuel marketers will sell according to what they are paying. The cost of aviation fuel has increased, even in London and every other country. Our own is worse because of the increase in foreign exchange.”