Domestic airlines are currently groaning under acute scarcity of aviation fuel , popularly called Jet A1. Only few of the airlines are currently getting regular supplies from aviation fuel marketers. It was gathered that the price of the Jet A1 has been fluctuating between N580 and N600 per litre in the last few days compare to the N450 it previously sold for. An official of one of the domestic airlines, who does not want to be named, angrily said that ” The price of jet A1 touched N600. The high cost of aviation fuel, which account for almost 40% of airline’s cost of operations, was one of the reasons advanced recently by airline operators for increasing the cost of tickets. The least ticket for an hour flight currently goes for N50,000.
A statement from Ibom Air on the scarcity read “We have encountered a situation where aviation fuel is scarce and therefore unavailable at almost all our flight destinations. This has significantly impacted our flight schedule. We sincerely apologise to all our passengers affected by the current situation. At this time, we have no indication when the issue will be resolved, however, we are working with our fellow airlines and fuel suppliers to find a solution. Our passengers and the public should please be informed. We will give an update once we have further information,” the airline said.
Arik Air also said ” Nigeria airlines are currently experiencing acute scarcity of jet A1 and this situation is having serious impact on our operations. The commodity is not readily available across the country and where available goes for between N590 and N625 per litre. On Tuesday March 8, 2022 we had to delay most of our flights across the network while a few others were cancelled. There is no certainty as to what the situation will be in the coming days. We are appealing to our esteemed customers to please bear with us as we engage the oil marketers and other stakeholders on ways of resolving the current jet fuel situation”.
Dana Air had also cried out about the crippling effect of the Jet A1 scarcity on their operations. The airline management said the ” aviation fuel crisis is taking a new turn and has continued to have effect on our operations in the last few weeks”. Speaking on the causes of the scarcity and current high price, the Chief Executive Officer, CEO of Cleanserve Energy, Mr Chris Ndule said the current price of crude oil in the international market has affected the prices of all petroleum products. Ndule said: ” It is not only aviation fuel price that has increased. Other petroleum products prices have also increased. This is partly due to the current price of crude oil in the international market which is going for between 110 to 125 dollars per barrel. The raging war in Ukraine has affected international trade. For instance, I was to bring in some shipment of Jet A1. But my foreign partner decided we should hold on and watch the international shipping routes.”
“The current exchange rate of the Naira to the dollar has also affected the prices of petroleum products. The Naira is currently being sold for 580 Naira to the dollar in the parallel market. This added to other logistics will definitely add to the cost of landing of Jet A1”. The Cleanserve Energy CEO however said there is hope the price of aviation fuel might come down as Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPC, has imported some aviation. This NNPC importation might bring down the price and also mitigate availability of aviation fuel,” Ndule said.
