Domestic airlines continue to bleed over expensive aviation fuel

As the price of aviation fuel also known as Jet A1 continues to increase with no immediate solution in sight, Nigeria’s domestic carriers are struggling to get the commodity for their operations with the subsequent effects creating delays in domestic operations.

According to information gathered, some of the local airlines have oftentimes been forced to either delay or cancel their flights following the non-availability and expensive nature of the commodity.

As of today, a litter of aviation fuel sells for N725 in Lagos, N740 in Abuja and N745 in Kano while other marketers sell for between N650 and N700 making operational costs becoming unbearable to domestic airlines.

Many of the local airline owners had at different fora cried out about how the high increase in the prices of aviation fuel coupled with the lull in passenger traffic among other factors have been preventing them from breaking even with the alarm that some of them may soon collapse.

ALSO READ FROM  NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

• Nurse Holds Doctor Hostage In OAU Teaching Hospital, Resident Doctors Plan Strike
• Woman’s Corpse, Unconscious Man Found Inside Office In Aba After Four Days
• Hoodlums Attack Lagos Governor’s Press Crew Bus In Tinubu’s Convoy, Two Injured
• [BREAKING] #EkitiDecides2022: INEC Declares APC’s Biodun Oyebanji Winner Of Guber Poll
• Top 10 Business Ideas In Nigeria You Can Start With 100,000 Naira
• 2023: Kwankwaso Will Not Be Deputy To Obi —NNPP

While a typical one-hour flight from Lagos to Abuja on a  Boeing classic gulps about 4500 litres for a one-leg flight, some airlines use as high as 80,000 litres for their operations daily while others use 150,000 litres all depending on the traffic volume.

For instance, at N715 litres for the 80,000 litres, the operator spends nothing less than N57,200,000 in Kano whereas, at N745/litre that same airline will spend N59, 600, 000 averagely every day just as the fuel consumption of 180000 litres daily at N715 cost the airline N128, 700, 000 while at N745 the airline spends at least N134, 100, 000 daily.

Many of the local airlines have cried out to the government to assist them which has continued to create panic amongst the airlines and key players as regards the consequences the hardship will have on travellers who will be forced to continue to pay high fares.