Rising price of Jet A1 fuel, FG offers succour to airlines, suspends collection of charges, others

IN a bid to avert the shutdown of operations in the aviation sector over rising cost of Jet A1 fuel, the Federal government on Wednesday held a stakeholders engagement with airlines offering suspension of the collection of charges by all government agencies from the airlines.

Speaking at the meeting in Abuja, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo said: “we had a robust discussion regarding the threats by the airlines to stop flying altogether because of the astronomical rise in the cost of jet A1 fuel that has made the cost of their operations almost unbearable for now.

“Representatives of all the top airlines are here. They also spoke with the regulators in the oil industry who are here too.

“Before this meeting, I had the privilege of meeting Mr. President to brief him about the meeting, and the. President mandated us to quickly bring a request to him, a formal request in writing.

“The first request to grant is a generous discount on the debts the airlines are owing the aviation agencies, NAMA, FAAN, NCAA, and others. Mr. President specifically told me not to wait for a Council memo that I should bring the letter to him as early as possible tomorrow, the percentage of discounts and all that, Mr. President would decide”

“He asked me in particular, to express his deep appreciation to the airline operators.

He knows the conditions under which we operate. And he said, I should thank you for not raising your prices despite all that has happened”

ALSO READ: Why Wale Edun resigned as Finance Minister — Presidency

The minister said Mr. President wants to set up a Committee to address the issues of levies, taxes and fees on domestic tickets once and for all.

“This request has been on for a long time and Mr. President will put the team together, and he will give them a deadline to report to him as quickly as possible” Keyamo explained.

Also speaking, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Mrs Patience Oyekunle noted: “We have had very fruitful deliberations. This is an urgent matter on the table, and there is the suggestion and the agreement that the marketers will be invited here tomorrow for us to continue this deliberation.

“So that is where we are from the side of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources. By tomorrow, we hope to have resolutions to some of these issues. Speaking on behalf of Airlines Operators of Nigeria (AON), Onyema Allen explained that”we are because of the astronomical rise of Jet A1 fuel in Nigeria which we consider not to be proportionate with the cost of or the rise in the cost of crude oil.”