Nigerian airlines suspend shutdown plans after Aviation Minster's intervention

• Nigerian airlines have temporarily suspended their planned shutdown after intervention from Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo.

• Operators said soaring Jet A1 fuel prices, rising from N900 to N3,300 per litre, made operations unsustainable.

• A high-level emergency meeting has been scheduled for April 22 to find a lasting solution to the crisis.

Domestic airlines in Nigeria have stepped back from their plans, at least for now. 

The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) on Friday temporarily suspended its planned shutdown action that had been scheduled to take effect on Monday, April 20, 2026, following an appeal by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo.

The intervention came after airlines had issued a stark warning earlier in the month, claiming that if the soaring cost of Jet A1 aviation fuel was not urgently addressed, they would have no choice but to halt operations. 

In a letter dated April 14, AON told the federal government that the price of Jet A1 had surged from N900 per litre at the end of February to N3,300 per litre, a jump of over 300 per cent that operators described as "astronomical and artificial." 

Airlines, they said, had continued flying for weeks despite mounting losses, but the situation had become unsustainable. Revenues could no longer cover even the basic cost of fuel.

The consequences of a shutdown, the operators warned, would extend well beyond the tarmac and turn into job losses, disruption to financial institutions, increased insecurity, and a broader hit to an economy that depends on air connectivity. 

They also flagged that passing the cost to passengers through higher fares risked collapsing demand entirely.

Keyamo responded with a letter to the AON on Thursday, acknowledging the crisis directly. 

He cited the same figures the airlines had raised, noting the fuel price hike from N900 to N3,300 per litre, and commended operators for their resilience in keeping flights running under the pressure. 

The minister urged airlines to hold off on both fare increases and any suspension of services, warning that either move would impose significant hardship on ordinary Nigerians and undermine confidence in the sector.

He also pointed to what he described as unprecedented reforms under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's administration, framing the aviation sector as a critical national asset tied to trade, security, employment, and economic integration.

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Crucially, Keyamo announced that a high-level emergency stakeholders' meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in Abuja, bringing together airlines, regulators, and other relevant parties to work toward what he called "a prompt, practical, and sustainable resolution."

The temporary suspension of the shutdown buys time, but the underlying crisis has not been resolved. With the April 22 meeting now on the calendar, all hope rests on both parties reaching a productive outcome.