Airline Operators of Nigeria have announced suspension of their operations from Monday, May 9, following a rise in cost of jet A1 fuel and other costs.
The airlines – Azman Air, Max Air, United Nigeria Airways, Ibom Air, Arik Air, Air Peace, Dana Air and Overland Airways – made this known in a letter addressed to the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika while copying the Director General of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Captain Musa Nuhu.
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The statement was jointly signed by Abdulmunaf Yunusa Sarina, president of the group; Shehu Wada, executive director, Max Air; Mfon Udom, CEO, Ibom Air; Abdullahi Mahmood, CEO, Aero Contractors; Edward Boyo, CEO, Overland Airways; Allen Onyema, chairman, Air Peace; Obiora Okonkwo, chairman, United Nigeria Airlines; Roy Ilegbodu, CEO, Arik Air; Faisal Abdulmunaf, MD, AzmanAir; and Sukh Mann, deputy CEO, Dana Air.
Aviation fuel price (JetA1) has risen from N190 per litre to N700 and the airlines have revolted, stressing that no airline in the world can absorb the astronomical hike.
The airlines said with the current fuel hike, it has increased its fuel cost component from 40% to 95% in Nigeria and also affected the cost of a seat per head which should be at least N120,000.
The operators appealed to passengers for understanding as the situation is currently biting and advised travellers to use roads to avoid being stranded at airports.
Read the full statement below;
AIRLINE OPERATORS TO SHUT DOWN OPERATIONS AMIDST HIGH COST OF JETA1, SYMPATHISE WITH PASSENGERS
Lagos; May 6, 2022. It is with a great sense of responsibility and patriotism that the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) have carried on deploying and subsidizing their services to our highly esteemed Nigerian flying public in the last four months despite the steady and astronomical hike in the price of JetA1 and other operating costs.
Overtime, aviation fuel price (JetA1) has risen from N190 per litre to N700 currently. No airline in the world can absorb this kind of sudden shock from such an astronomical rise over a short period. While aviation fuel worldwide is said to cost about 40% of an airline’s operating cost globally, the present hike has shut up Nigeria’s operating cost to about 95%.
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It stressed;
In the face of this, airlines have engaged the Federal Government, the National Assembly, NNPC and Oil Marketers with the view to bringing the cost of JetA1 down which has currently made the unit cost per seat for a one hour flight in Nigeria today to an average of N120,000. The latter cannot be fully passed to passengers who are already experiencing a lot of difficulties.
While AON appreciates the efforts of the current government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure air transport in Nigeria grows, unfortunately, the cost of aviation fuel has continued to rise unabated thereby creating huge pressure on the sustainability of operations and financial viability of the airlines. This is unsustainable and the airlines can no longer absorb the pressure.
To this end therefore, the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) hereby wishes to regrettably inform the general public that member airlines will discontinue operations nationwide with effect from Monday May 9, 2022 until further notice.
AON uses this medium to humbly state that we regret any inconveniences this very difficult decision might cause and appeal to travelers to kindly reconsider their travel itinerary and make alternative arrangements.
Recall that March 15, AON had threatened to shut down their operations on March 18 if the government could not find a lasting solution for the marketers to reduce the Jet-A1 price.
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Allen Onyema, vice-president of AON and chairman of Air Peace, had said airlines were considering scaling down on flight frequencies to minimise the cost of operations.
He stated that the price hike was suffocating local carriers as they spend millions of naira to fill an aircraft with aviation fuel.
Read Also: Nigerian Airlines Suspend Shutdown Of Flight Operations Over Fuel Price Hike
Giving an update three days later, Mr Onyema explained that airlines collectively agreed to suspend the shutdown to avert further disruption in economic activities, considering the key role air transportation plays in the logistic mix.
