The crisis facing Nigeria’s domestic aviation sector has worsened as airlines grapple with an unprecedented surge in the cost of aviation fuel also known as Jet A1.

Ibom Air, one of the domestic airlines, has warned that the situation is fast becoming unsustainable.

The airline revealed that the cost of fueling a single flight has skyrocketed from an average of N2.1 million in January to approximately N7.6 million as of April 26, representing a staggering increase of over 350 percent within just seven weeks.

According to the airline, this sharp rise has occurred despite operating one of the most fuel-efficient fleets in the domestic market, underscoring the severity of the crisis across the industry.

The airline stated this in a statement by its Group Manager, Marketing and Communication, Aniekan Essienette.

This is coming amidst widespread disruption of domestic flight schedule over Jet A1 scarcity and the high cost of the product which went up following the US-Israel war on Iran.

Daily Trust reports that apart from Ibom Air, most of the domestic carriers have had to contend with flight disruption over aviation fuel shortage with passengers facing delays and in some cases cancellations.

But the matter is getting worst at the moment and feelers show that most of the airlines may eventually shut down operations this week as earlier planned.

The statement by Ibom Air read, “The fuel price situation is an unprecedented crisis for Nigeria’s domestic airlines. At Ibom Air, the cost of fueling our aircraft has more than tripled between January and today. From an average of N2.1m per flight in January, as at today, the 26th of April, we are paying approximately N7.6m to fuel every flight. This is a more than 350% increase since the beginning of March, a space of just 7 weeks! And our aircraft are some of the most fuel efficient in the domestic market.

“At this point, domestic airlines are baffled at why the price of aviation fuel in Nigeria has ballooned to this level, way above the rest of the world, while the fuel marketers obtain 95% or more of their aviation fuel from Dangote Refinery.

“The situation is exacerbated by the fact that a combination of competitive pressures and patriotism have prevented a commensurate increase in our fares, meaning that we and our fellow domestic airlines have had to absorb the immense operating losses resulting from this situation.

“We chose to do this believing that the crisis would pass in a week or two, but it has persisted now for nearly two months, continuously increasing, with no reprieve in sight as at today. While we continue to do everything we can to maintain normal operations, it is clear to us that the current conditions are unsustainable.

“We note that, worldwide, where fuel price increases are nowhere near what we are facing in Nigeria, airlines are reducing flights to manage the situation. We, too, will have to take whatever ameliorating actions we can in the days ahead, including reducing our capacity if necessary, to be able to continue to provide services to our customers and our country. We also note that, if this situation persists much longer, airlines will not be able to continue operating just to pay for fuel and nothing else.

“We call on the fuel marketers to seriously reconsider the pricing of aviation fuel to make the airline business model continue to work in Nigeria.” (Daily Trust)

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