Aviation Fuel: FG To Ground Aircrafts Over Inability To Operate Optimally

The Federal Government is set to ground aeroplanes over the inability of local airlines to operate them optimally.

Naija News reports that the Director-General, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Nuhu Musa made this known on Thursday during his appearance before the House of Representatives.

The NCAA boss said the authority might be forced to take the painful decision due to the rising cost of JetA1, also called aviation fuel.

Musa noted that the rise in the price of aviation fuel had led to a spike in the cost of the operations of airlines which is not economical for the airline operators.

He pointed out that if the aviation sector should crash today, many other sectors of the economy would stop operations in a matter of time.

He said, “Fuel is to be about 30 per cent; as of today, it has gone to about 50 per cent under the cost of operations. As the regulator of the industry, this is of significant concern for me, not only for the inconveniences caused to the travelling public in terms of flight delays and cancellations.

“It is also a significant safety concern to us because if airlines cannot have enough financial margin to comply with all the mandatory requirements, then it is something that we really may have to look at.

“God forbid, I don’t want to come before this committee explaining why A or B happened. Every day, it increases. Sir, I won’t be surprised tomorrow if it is selling for N700 per litre. Every day it is increasing by between N20 to N30. Yesterday, it was N635. Today, it is N670.

“Considering the cost of air tickets now, the airline industry cannot survive. It is either we shut them down because they cannot generate enough revenue to operate safely. We are not even talking about cancellations and delays; we are talking about the safety of flight operations.

“It is the responsibility of the (Nigerian) Civil Aviation Authority and I am fully responsible for the safe operations. We hope the honourable House can help us find a solution to resolve this matter. Aviation is critical to the economy of Nigeria.”

Domestic Airlines To Shut Down Operations Over Aviation Fuel Scarcity

Meanwhile, Nigerian domestic airlines have said they might be forced to suspend operations due to a hike in the price of aviation fuel.

Speaking on behalf of Airlines Operators of Nigeria, on Thursday, Allen Onyeama, chairman of Air Peace Airline, said airlines were now buying fuel at N670 per litre, up from N190 at the end of last year.

He said, “Unfortunately, the fuel scarcity is starting to seriously impact our operations as we are likely going to experience flight disruption today and in the coming days until the situation abates. The aviation fuel crisis is taking a new turn and has continued to affect our operations.

“If the prices of aviation fuel keep rising at the rate they are moving, we are not sure we will survive the next 72 hours.”