Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has raised an alarm of airlines in the country closing down due to the continuous rise in the price of Jet A1, otherwise known as aviation fuel.
AON’s Vice Chairman, Mr. Allen Onyema who spoke at the maiden edition of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) National Aviation Conference (FNAC) with the theme: ‘Advancing the frontiers of possibilities for safe, secure and profitable air transport’, warned that if the challenge of aviation fuel was not nipped in the bud, more airlines might shutdown because many of them are going through very difficult times due to aviation fuel prices and other challenges.
The AON noted that though the Federal Government had approved 10,000 metric tonnes of the commodity to the airlines to curb the challenge, carriers were yet to access it.
Onyema explained that the airlines hoped to start lifting the product from today June 16. 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.
”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 airlines in Nigeria.
”We have come to realise 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. The fuel marketers will sell according to what they are paying. The cost of aviation fuel has increased, even in London and other country. Our own is worse because of the increase in foreign exchange.”
The Nation reported that the product sold for N714 per litre across some airports on June 15. About 16 months ago, aviation fuel sold for about N200 per litre.
