Unions to begin strike, local airlines will cease operations from Monday

Yesterday, local airlines told the government and the general public that they were going to stop all planned flights for good starting next Monday, May 9, because of the high cost of aviation fuel, which is now selling for N700 per liter.

In a memo sent yesterday, the airlines, under the auspices of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), expressed sadness for the “inevitable” shutdown’s impact on passengers who had already booked flights.

Airline workers’ unions have also warned the government that they will begin a two-day strike on May 9 in protest of unresolved conditions of service and other issues.

In a memo signed by nine other airline CEOs, AON President Abdulmaf Yunusa said that the government’s help with the aviation fuel crisis didn’t work because Jet-A1 raised the N500/liter threshold to N700.

Yunusa said that no airline would be able to keep giving cheap flights to people even though the price of aviation fuel has gone up so much and the costs of running a business have also gone up.

He noted that the price of aviation fuel had jumped from N190 per liter to N700 per liter in less than a year. According to him, no airline in the world can withstand such a massive increase in such a short period of time. In the rest of the world, aviation fuel is thought to make up about 40% of an airline’s operating costs. In Nigeria, that figure has risen to about 95%.

In response to this, airlines have engaged the Federal Government, the National Assembly, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and oil marketers in an effort to reduce the cost of Jet-A1, which has driven the unit cost per seat for a one-hour flight in Nigeria to an average of N120,000. The latter cannot be fully passed on to travelers, who are already dealing with several problems.

While AON applauds President Muhammadu Buhari’s efforts to ensure the growth of air transport in Nigeria, Yunusa says that the cost of aviation fuel has continued to rise unabated, putting a strain on the airlines’ operations and financial viability. This is unsustainable, and the airlines are unable to withstand the strain.

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According to Yunusa, the AON regretfully wishes to warn the general public that member airlines will cease operations nationwide on Monday, May 9, 2022, until further notice. AON is sorry for any problems this difficult decision may cause, and they want people to think again about their trip plans and make other arrangements.

Max Air Executive Director Shehu Wada, Dr. Obiora Okonkwo, Capt. Mfon Udom, Capt. Roy Ilegbodu, and Capt. Abdullahi Mahmood is some of the people who work for them. They also work for Aero Contractors, where they work with Capt. Abdullahi Mahmood.

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