Confusion has continued to reign over the threat issued by the Nigerian domestic airlines to shut down their flight operations on Monday, May 9, 2022 over high price of aviation fuel and other challenging issues.
The airlines under the umbrella body of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) in a statement issued and signed by its president, Alhaji Abdulmunaf Yunusa Sarina and eight other airlines with the minister of aviation and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) notified, had declared its plans to withdraw services from Monday.
Twenty four hours to the planned shutdown of their operations, one of its member, Ibom Air has dissociated itself from the imminent action.
The declaration has started attracting reactions from key players with the minister though acknowledging the challenges faced by the operators, but lamented that unfortunately the issue of fuel supply was not within the purview of the ministry of aviation hence, he can only engage with all the agencies, institutions and individuals in positions to provide succour to the airlines.
While assuring that efforts to assuage the situation were ongoing, the minister appealed to the airline operators, to even in the difficult situation, consider the multiplier effect of shutting down operations, on Nigerians and global travelers, in taking their business-informed decisions and actions.
This is just as the speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila has expressed his worries over what he called the reoccurring aviation fuel crisis in the country, vowing to lead the members of the lower chambers to take a far reaching decisions on the matter as soon as possible to ensure that the problem was permanently rested.
There however seems to be a crack in the wall of the airlines as one of the members, Ibom Air owned by the Akwa Ibom State government has dissociated itself from the planned shutdown.
A statement issued by the airline management yesterday afternoon while insisting that Ibom Air had financial obligations to suppliers, financiers and staff, which depend on uninterrupted flow of revenue to service, declared: “In view of the foregoing facts, Ibom Air had respectfully disagreed with the decision of AON to suspend flight operations on Monday 09 May 2022. Ibom Air cannot in the circumstance volunteer to stop operating and will continue normal operations on Monday 09 May 2022 and beyond. Ibom Air’s inclusion as “signatory” to the statement released by AON must have derived from its active and committed membership of the AON.”
The airline furthermore said: “Ibom Air acknowledged the existential threat that these runaway fuel price increases pose for the air transport industry in Nigeria. We agree that this out-of-control situation is simply unsustainable. However, every airline has its unique business model and pressures. We believe that in spite of the escalating fuel prices, airlines volunteering to stop operations would rather exacerbate an already bad situation. More importantly is the fact that having been paid by customers in advance for flight bookings we are bound by contract to deliver the services already paid for, to avoid exposing the airline to the risk of avoidable litigation.
“Apart from the above factors, Ibom Air is currently the only airline serving Akwa Ibom State directly and as such, any voluntary stoppage of operations would completely cut off access by air into and out of the State. Such action would be directly in conflict with and detrimental to the interest of our shareholder.
“The above notwithstanding, we identify very strongly with our AON colleagues and will participate in every effort to resolve this frightening situation as soon as possible in the interest of our business, our customers, our stakeholders and our country.”
The position of the Ibom Air management has created different reactions from stakeholders with many believing that the airlines were not speaking from the same level.
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