Desk Report
Publish: 08 May 2022, 01:09 pm
Photo: AFP
Nigerian airlines are to
suspend all flights from Monday over rising jet fuel prices, an umbrella
organisation of operators said on Saturday.
The cost of fuel has soared
worldwide since Russia invaded its neighbour Ukraine in February and the West
responded by slapping sanctions on Moscow.
The Airline Operators of
Nigeria said the price of jet fuel had jumped from 190 to 700 Nigerian naira
per litre (from $0.45 to almost $1.70).
"No airline in the world
can absorb this kind of sudden shock from such an astronomical rise over a
short period," the AON said.
The group said it would now
cost a customer 120,000 naira ($289) for a one-hour flight, a sum unaffordable
for Nigerians "already experiencing a lot of difficulties".
The AON therefore wished
"to regrettably inform the general public that member airlines will
discontinue operations nationwide with effect from Monday May 9, 2022 until
further notice," it said.
The aviation ministry
responded by urging airlines to "consider the multiplier effect of
shutting down operations, on Nigerians and global travellers".
The Nigerian consumer
protection agency also implored "domestic airlines to consider the effect
of the proposed shutdown on passengers and the magnitude of difficulties and
hardship associated with such an action".
It added it was
"concerned with rising consumer feedback that airlines have continued to
sell tickets beyond the date announced for the proposed service shutdown."
Social media users made fun
of the airlines suggesting customers find alternative means of travel.
"Airlines in Nigeria
will shut down their services to passengers from Monday," one tweeted to
more than 110,000 followers. "I hope you can trek from Lagos to
Abuja?" they wrote, of the journey of more than 700 kilometres (more than
400 miles) by road between the country's largest city and its capital -- one
that normally takes just over an hour on an airplane.
"If you use the roads, I
hope you have your ransom money?" they added, making light of abductions
in other parts of the oil-rich country.
Nigeria produces 1.4 million
barrels of crude a day, but it refines little. It relies almost completely on
fuel imports, making the local market vulnerable to disruptions.
The rising price of fuel has
caused prolonged power blackouts in recent weeks.
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