Airlines operating in Nigeria have resorted to cutting flight schedules on major routes in the country as a result of the shortage and lingering scarcity of jet gas being experienced in the aviation industry.
The sector’s operations reached a crisis point on Wednesday with the product selling for between N830 and N900 per litre. There’s palpable apprehension pervading the sector with operators sensing that aviation fuel prices may hit the N1,000 per litre mark in a few days unless there is some intervention.
To keep their operations running, some carriers are now cutting flight frequencies on major routes, including: Lagos/Abuja from many flights daily to just a few per week.
Aviation fuel, which sold for N180 per litre last year, is pushing towards N1,000 per litre, a development operators say has resulted in over 130 per cent hike in the cost of running the business.
Experts say it costs about N70 million daily to fill the fuel hold of a big aircraft.
Investigations show that it costs about N50 million daily to fill the fuel hold of a medium, narrow body aircraft.
Expenditure on aviation fuel constitute over 40 per cent of the operating costs of airlines.
According to a report by The Nation, one-way fares on the Lagos-Abuja rotation oscillate between N70, 000 and N110,000 depending on the carrier.
Checks on the portal of one of the carriers for Wednesday’s flight on the Lagos-Abuja rotation puts the lowest fare at N75,000 for a one-way ticket. The carrier for the same date of travel has fares ranging between N75, 000, N78,000, N82,000, and N100,000.
ALSO READ: Nigeria’s debt service ratio ranks worst in the world
Return flights between Abuja/Lagos for the same date are relatively lower at N75,000, N70,000 and, N78,000.
Fares on the Lagos/Port Harcourt route for a one-way ticket are N70,000, N75,000, and N82,000.
Tickets on the Lagos/Owerri route sell for N78,000, N82,000 and N100,000 and N150,000.
On competitive routes, such as Lagos/ Ilorin destinations where four carriers are slugging it out, fares range between N60,000, N65,000, N75,000 and N81, 000 respectively.
Investigations revealed that the temporary cessation of operations of two carriers : Aero Contractors and Dana Air has created limited seats for the about 32 aircraft currently operated by other carriers – Air Peace, Ibom Air, Arik Air, Max Air, AZMAN Air, Overland Airways , United Nigeria Airlines and Green Africa Airways.
AZMAN Air, it was learnt, has reduced its daily flight on the Lagos / Abuja route to about thrice weekly.
Source: The Nation
