Airlines Project Flight Delays over Aviation Fuel Scarcity, Price Hike

Airline Operators of Nigeria, a body that comprises local airlines have decried the scarcity of aviation fuel, predicting its effect on flight schedules.

Investors King reports that the price of aviation fuel also known as Jet A1 has drastically risen between N700 and N900 per litre as its market is not well regulated.

The Assistant Secretary of Airline Operators of Nigeria, Ewos Iroro, in an interview on Tuesday, in Abuja stated that the fuel scarcity and price hike may cause flight delays at several airlines.

He said the aviation fuel price fluctuates without regulation as each marketer’s fuel price is influenced by how much he bought it which has made the price changes unpredictable due to the deregulated market.

According to a report by Philips Consulting Limited titled— Nigeria’s Aviation Industry Customer Satisfaction Survey Report for 2022, $192bn was spent by the country’s aviation sector on aviation fuel last year.

The report says that the aviation fuel price grew to 70 percent within the first six months of 2022 which was a major issue for airlines during the period.

“Fuel is the industry’s largest cost item with $192bn in 2022. The ongoing war in Ukraine, which keeps prices for Brent Oil high, continues exacerbating the situation. The increased jet fuel price now represents a significant challenge for airlines in the first six months of 2022. 

“Jet fuel price rose more than 70 percent indicating one of the steepest jumps in jet fuel price since 2022. The rise in jet fuel is driven by the soaring crude oil price following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 when the Brent crude oil price rose by 11 percent,” it read.

On the current production rate, the data indicated that Airbus is faced with some challenges which have been hindering the increase in the production of the A320 family to 65 percent.

“Particularly with the 787, there remains a lack of certainty around production. However, the supply chain bottlenecks cascade throughout the aerospace industry hitting companies such single-engine light aircraft manufacturers such as Cirrus-Aircraft,” it stated.