The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) warned on Wednesday, 15 September 2021, that member airlines could be forced to suspend flights nationwide as a worsening scarcity of Jet A1 fuel pushed prices sharply higher and left carriers struggling to secure reliable supply at several airports.
AON said the price of aviation fuel had more than doubled within a matter of weeks, driven by a combination of forex scarcity, import bottlenecks, and reduced local refining capacity. The group said some airlines had already begun rationing flights on thinner routes to conserve fuel stock.
Airlines Seek Government Intervention
In a joint statement, AON called on the federal government to grant aviation fuel importers priority access to foreign exchange and to consider a temporary waiver on import duties to ease the immediate supply crunch. The group said the alternative, without swift intervention, was a nationwide suspension of domestic flights that would strand thousands of passengers.
The Ministry of Aviation said it was in talks with fuel marketers and the Central Bank of Nigeria to address the shortage, while acknowledging that the scarcity had already led to longer refuelling delays and some flight cancellations at major airports including Lagos and Abuja.
