President of the Aviation Safety and Round Table Initiative (ASRTI), Dr Gabriel Olowo, Wednesday advised airlines to sell their tickets in line with the fluctuating price of Jet A1 (aviation fuel).
This was just as the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) said operations had been threatened and that they were in “a life and death” situation.
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Olowo, in a statement, also called for increased vigilance of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), saying a price increase was better than negotiating safety by cutting corners.
Daily Trust reports that Jet A1 neared N900 per litre yesterday.
Olowo said, “This is my candid opinion to airlines, given these uncontrollable factors of production in the airline industry sector. Demand will definitely drop but much better than cut corners and plan an accident.
“If fuel is 4,000 litres for a one-hour on jet (LOS-ABV) for example at N800 per litre, which gives N3,200,000, and a load factor of 100 passengers, this means fuel cost per passenger is N32,000 and this is approximately 30 per cent of total cost.
“This will translate to a N107,000 tariff for one way journey. PHCN (power firms) have introduced a premium tariff on power and those who can afford it are settling for it. This is not the time for frivolous and reckless competition nor uneconomic patriotism.”
He also said the sector must not negotiate accidents and that the NCAA was encouraged to be more vigilant to “watch cutting corners.”
An airline operator said if the operators would follow Olowo’s advice, a one-way ticket could cost N150,000.
AON, in a statement Wednesday, also explained that the Jet A1 crisis which began in February had further worsened and threatened airlines’ operations.
“The price of Jet A1 rose suddenly from N200 in December, 2021, to over N400 per litre in February. Today the price has skyrocketed to over N800 per litre,” it added.
AON had threatened strike action in May but the government intervened.
“To say the least, airlines are in a ‘life and death’ struggle to secure the foreign exchange that they urgently need to acquire spare parts to ensure the regular routine and scheduled maintenance of aircraft,” AON stated.
