Nigerian airlines, under the aegis of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), have raised an alarm that there will be major flight disruptions in the aviation sector due to scarcity of Jet-A1, otherwise known as aviation fuel.
This is the second time in over 2 months that the association is announcing possible disruption of flight operations in the country over the same scarcity of aviation fuel.
According to TheCable, this disclosure is contained in a statement issued by the Spokesman of AON, Obiora Okonkwo, on Friday, where he said that the current scarcity of aviation fuel would lead to cancellations and prolonged delays across all airports in the country.
This notification of AON is coming barely a few hours after authorities of Ibom Air alerted their customers of the possibility of cancellation of flights amid the recent delay of scheduled flights operated by the airline due to the growing unavailability of aviation fuel.
What the AON is saying
The statement from AON reads, “This is to notify the members of the public, especially, consumers of air transport services in the country, that the aviation sector has been hit by a major crisis with the acute scarcity of aviation fuel otherwise known as Jet-A1.
“For this reason, there will be major disruptions in scheduled flight operations, including cancellations and unnecessary delays across all airports in the country.
“This is a foreseen but unintended consequence of the aviation fuel scarcity in the country.”
The airline operators pleaded for the understanding of the travelling public, asking them to bear with its members as efforts are currently being made to address the development and restore normal flight operations.
What you should know
- Recall that on May 16, the Airline Operators of Nigeria announced the planned disruption of flight operations due to scarcity of aviation fuel. This was however suspended following the intervention of the federal government and members of the national assembly.
- Also in a related development, the airline operators had a few days ago called for the immediate removal of the 5% fuel surcharge collected by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) as part of the measure to forestall a backlash and total shutdown of airline operations in the country.
- The airlines’ body lamented that the rise in aviation fuel has greatly increased their operational cost to over 130%, adding that the need to remove the fuel surcharge could not be overemphasized.
