Scarcity of aviation fuel resurfaces •As Arik Air scale down flight operations

Passengers particularly on the domestic scene may have started experiencing difficulty in catching flights to their various stations following the fresh scarcity of aviation fuel.

The scarcity which started last week has started taking its toll on airline operations with some of the domestic airlines either delaying or canceling their flights due to the non availability of the commodity.

Raising the alarm over the fresh scarcity of aviation fuel otherwise known in aviation parlance as Jet A1 yesterday was Arik Air which had already alerted passengers of the worsening aviation fuel scarcity across the country’s airports.

Arik Air, West and Central Africa’s largest airline has alerted passengers of worsening aviation fuel (JET A1) scarcity across the country.

According to a statement issued by the Communication Manager of the airline, Adebanji Ola, the aviation fuel scarcity started manifesting last week when major oil marketers began to ration supply of the product to airlines.

“One of the marketers issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) on Saturday alerting of non-availability of the product in Lagos. Another marketer said it was running out of product in Lagos with limited supplies in Port Harcourt and Abuja.

“This development has started taking its toll on Arik Air due to the airline’s large scale operations, with flights being delayed across the country and in some cases cancelled especially for airports without airfield lighting.

“With a daily fuel need of about 500,000 litres and an average of over 100 daily flights, Arik Air is mostly affected by this scarcity which is the fourth this year alone. One of the airline’s flights to Johannesburg on Tuesday had to be routed via Port Harcourt to pick up fuel.

“As a result of the worsening supply situation of the aviation fuel, Arik Air has announced further reduction in flights from Wednesday, November 16 to cope with the fresh scarcity, and reduce the unpleasant delays and cancellations which passengers have experienced in recent times.

“It has therefore appealed for the understanding of its valued customers whose flights are likely to be affected by the scarcity and scaling down of operations. Where flights are to be delayed or cancelled as a result of the scarcity, Arik Air will be sending text or email messages to passengers.”