Stakeholders in the aviation industry under the aegis of Airline Operators of Nigeria have lamented that the price of Jet A1, otherwise known as aviation fuel, has skyrocketed to N800 per litre.
Alhaji Abdulmunaf Yunusa Sarina, the President of AON, stated that the fuel situation has consistently taken a dive since the beginning of the year.
The statement read: “The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) would like to notify the general public that the Jet A1 crisis, which began in late February and deteriorated further through the months of March to May, has further worsened and currently threatening the ability of airlines to continue operations.
“The price of Jet A1 rose suddenly from N200 in December 2021 to over N400 per litre in February. Today the price has skyrocketed to over N800 per litre.
On top of the continuous rise in the price of aviation fuel, supply is at best epileptic and unpredictable at several airports across the country there by causing flight delays, and even cancellations, as airlines queue for fuel at airports across the country.”
Besides, the body bemoaned the high cost and scarcity of foreign exchange in the country.
According to the operators, the airlines carry out most of their activities in United States dollars, which today sells for N630 to $1 and also in short supply.
The AON said that the airlines are in a “life and death” struggle to secure foreign exchange that they need to acquire spare parts to ensure the regular routine and scheduled maintenance of aircraft.
They explained that this is a major influence on how quickly a grounded aircraft could be fixed and restored for flight operations, which impacts greatly on the reliability of schedules, growth of the industry and economic growth and sustainability.
The operators further decried that the current sordid experience was further made worse by the action of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), which in a notice to airmen (NOTAM) of July 5, 2022 announced the 90 days closure of the domestic runway (18L) of Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Ikeja, beginning on July 8, 2022.
AON described the decision of FAAN as unfortunate and ill-timed, especially at a time the airlines were struggling to remain in business, adding that the short notice has further crippled air transport operations in the country and severely inconveniencing the air travellers.
“The closure of the main domestic runway of MMA automatically adds an additional 10-15 percent more fuel costs per sector into and out of the domestic airport in Lagos, based on the additional flight and taxi time incurred as a result.
