Nigeria: FG engages airlines, considers relief measures over jet fuel costs

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In a bid to avert the shutdown of operations in the aviation sector over the rising cost of Jet A1 fuel, the Federal government on Wednesday held a stakeholders engagement with airlines, offering suspension of the collection of charges by all government agencies from the airlines.

Speaking at the engagement meeting in Abuja, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, said “we had a robust discussions regarding the threats by the airlines to stop flying altogether because of the astronomical rise in the cost of jet A1 fuel that has made the cost of their operations almost unbearable for now.

“Representatives of all the top airlines are here. They also spoke with the regulators in the oil industry, who are here too.

“Before this meeting, I had the privilege of meeting Mr. President to brief him about the meeting, and Mr. President mandated us t

“The first request to grant is a generous discount on the debts the airlines are owing the aviation agencies, NAMA, FAAN, NCAA, and others. Mr. President specifically told me not to wait for a Council memo that I should bring the letter to him as early as possible tomorrow, the percentage of discounts and all that, Mr. President would decide”

“He asked me in particular to express his deep appreciation to the airline operators, he knows the conditions under which we operate. And he said, I should thank you for not raising your prices despite all that has happened”

The Minister said Mr. President wants to set up a Committee to address the issues of levies, taxes and fees on domestic tickets once and for all. “This request has been on for a long time and Mr. President will put the team together, and he will give them a deadline to report to him as quickly as possible” Keyamo explained.

Also speaking, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Sen.
Heineken Lokpobiri, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Mrs Patience Oyekunle noted that”we have had very fruitful deliberations. This is an urgent matter on the table, and there is a suggestion and agreement that the marketers will be invited here tomorrow for us to continue this deliberation.

“So that is where we are from the side of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources. By tomorrow, we hope to have resolutions to some of these issues,” she stated.

Speaking on behalf of Airlines Operators of Nigeria (AON), Onyema Allen explained that”we are because of the astronomical rise of Jet A1 fuel in Nigeria which we consider not to be proportionate with the cost of or the rise in the cost of crude oil.

“All over the world, the standard is, if crude oil rises by 10 percent, the byproduct of crude oil should rise by proportionate price but in Nigeria, the price has increased by about 300 percent and airlines are bleeding.

“Yes, we threatened to shut down operations, not because we wanted to shut down, but because we had no money anymore,” he lamented.

He commended the President for the intervention but requested for a total waiver to the debt owed by airlines to the government instead.

The meeting will continue tomorrow with aviation oil marketers in attendance.