‘No airline will fly in Nigeria in 7 days’: Airline operators issue ultimatum on rising jet fuel cost

• CEO of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, says the increase in aviation fuel in Nigeria is triple the global average of 70%

• Onyema says no airline will fly in 7 days if aviation fuel prices aren't reviewed

• The federal government is intervening to avert the looming strike

The crisis in the Nigerian aviation sector is yet to be abated at the association of airline operators has issued a seven-day ultimatum for the reduction in the price of aviation fuel.

After a meeting between the airline operators and the federal government delegation led by the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, the CEO of Air Peace, Mr Allen Onyema, spoke to the press and bemoaned what he described as a disproportionate increase in the price of aviation fuel in Nigerian incomparision to the global average.

According to Onyema, whose Air Peace is Nigeria's largest domestic carrier, the global increase in aviation fuel is around 75%, while Nigeria has seen an over 200% increase.

"Since the advent of the US - Iran war, there has been a tremendous spike in the cost of aviation fuel, of which we, the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), feel that it's not proportionate to the rise of crude oil internationally...We discovered that it's only in Nigeria where we have about 270% increase, while in other parts of the world, including in African countries, it's about 70%," Onyema told the media after the meeting between the airline operators and the aviation jet fuel suppliers called by the federal government.

While the meeting was an intervention by the government to avert the strike threatened by airline operators, the chances of the airlines grounding their operations are still very high, with Onyema restating a 7-day ultimatum for the aviation suppliers to review the prices.

"We expect that in the next 48 hours, something drastic is done, or no airline in this country will fly in the next 7 days if something is not done," Onyema said, bemoaning the increase in aviation fuel, which has made it impossible for airlines to afford to run their services.

President Tinubu, on his own part, has been engaging stakeholders to avert the looming strike. Just recently, the President was said to be considering waiving the debt owed by the airline operators to the federal government as a way to cushion the increase in the cost of operation caused by the rising prices in aviation fuel.

The cost of aviation has hit ₦3,300 per litre, which airline operators have said would force them to halt operations or execute a commensurate increase in ticket prices.

Nigerians who already pay over double the minimum wage for a plane ticket within the country would be hoping that a solution is found between the airline operators and the aviation fuel suppliers to avert either a strike or an increase in ticket price.