Airline operators in Nigeria have announced that domestic airlines will be shut down across Nigeria from Monday, May 9, 2022, until further notice.
This was announced in a statement issued by the President of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Alhaji (Dr) Abdulmunaf Yunusa Sarina, as a result of the increase in the price of aviation fuel (JetAl), which has risen from N190 to N700 per litre.
While aviation fuel is considered to account for roughly 40% of an airline’s operating costs worldwide, the current surge has brought Nigeria’s operating costs to around 95%.
AON claimed no airline in the world could withstand such a massive increase in such a short period of time.
According to AON, airlines have met with the Federal Government, the National Assembly, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and oil marketers to reduce the cost of JetAl, which has pushed the unit cost per seat for a one-hour trip in Nigeria to an average of N120,000.
The airline operators claim that this cannot be fully passed on to passengers who are already dealing with several issues.
AON encourages visitors to review their travel plans and prepare alternate plans.