The fuel crises affecting the nation has hit so hard
airline operators on Saturday had to cancel their flights and stop
selling tickets as aviation fuel, Jet A1 has become hard to find.
This occurs three weeks after domestic airlines cancelled flights for few days due to lack of Jet A1
According to This Day online, Chairman of Air Peace, a new domestic carrier, Allen Onyema, on Monday warned of flights might be cancelled as Jet A1 becomes difficult to find.
Jet A1 which constitutes about 40 per cent of airlines’ operational expenses
On Saturday Arik Air, Aero Contractors, Med View, Air Peace and other airlines had cancelled most of their flights because of the non-availability of aviation fuel.
It was gathered that Arik Air had to cancelled all their domestic flights. Meanwhile international flights flying from Lagos to London had to go through Kano to fuel before flying to London as the 120,000 litres needed for the aircraft in Lagos could not be sourced.
Aero Contractors meanwhile cancelled its flights, but was able to operate Asaba, Warri and Benin and on Friday it delayed its Calabar to Lagos flights till Saturday.
When it landed in Calabar, Friday, it could not get back to Lagos that evening because of airport visual flight rule which restricted night operation due to lack of airfield lighting.
First Nation Airways and Medview operated was Lagos Abuja flight; but Medview was able to operate Abuja to Yola flights and cancelled the rest of their flights.
There are indications that flights today will be cancelled while it has also been suggested that by Monday the nation’s economy will be paralysed as there would be no domestic flight operations.
Aero in a statement apologized to costumers, it said, “Due to the general scarcity of aviation fuel (Jet A1) in the country, the airline will not be able to operate over 80 per cent of her domestic flights as scheduled.
In the last few weeks, the supply of aviation fuel has been very irregular, which has compelled the airline to cancel some flights. We apologise to our esteemed customers for the inconvenience they may have been experiencing due to flight delays and cancellations caused by the scarcity of aviation fuel.
“We urge our customers to always check our website at www.flyaero.com or contact the call centre agent on 016284140 to affirm if their scheduled flight will operate. Aero regrets any inconvenience the changes will cause. All measures are being made to ameliorate the situation and revert to her regular flight schedule. We hope that the situation improves very soon.”
On Friday all the tank farms at the airport in Lagos seemed drained and trucking from the Apapa depot had since stopped. Domestic carriers need over 2.5 million litres of aviation fuel every day for full flight operation but by
Regarding international flights airlines have been delaying flights for up to 48 hours and by Thursday, many of the airlines arrived Nigeria with fuel and only top up on arrival and it was while waiting to top up fuel that the flights are delayed.
Virgin Atlantic on Thursday had to fly to Ghana to refuel before airlifting its Nigerian flights to London while many of the airlines with large body aircraft arrived Nigeria fully laden with return and endurance fuel as they had been forewarned of the fuel scarcity rocking the nation.
An insider explained the situation saying; “Many of the foreign airlines only need to top up their tank with about 45,000 to 50, 000 litres of fuel; they come here fully loaded but just needed top up. British Airways which operates Boeing 747 aircraft which can fly non-stop for 14 hours come here with all the fuel it needs, but then it has to face the challenge of take-off weight; that is why they may come with a little less and then top up in Nigeria.”
The failure of the oil marketers to airlift petroleum products due to government’s inability to pay the huge subsidy debts, amounting to several billions of naira, prompted the National Union of National Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum and National Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PEGASSAN) to embark on strike, demanding payment for their services.
Earlier today, Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala vowed not to pay the fuel marketers the millions they are requesting while slamming allegations by vice-president elect, Pro. Yemi Osinbajo that President Goodluck Jonathan’s adminstration will be leaving $60 billion debt burden for the in-coming government.
This occurs three weeks after domestic airlines cancelled flights for few days due to lack of Jet A1
According to This Day online, Chairman of Air Peace, a new domestic carrier, Allen Onyema, on Monday warned of flights might be cancelled as Jet A1 becomes difficult to find.
Jet A1 which constitutes about 40 per cent of airlines’ operational expenses
On Saturday Arik Air, Aero Contractors, Med View, Air Peace and other airlines had cancelled most of their flights because of the non-availability of aviation fuel.
It was gathered that Arik Air had to cancelled all their domestic flights. Meanwhile international flights flying from Lagos to London had to go through Kano to fuel before flying to London as the 120,000 litres needed for the aircraft in Lagos could not be sourced.
Aero Contractors meanwhile cancelled its flights, but was able to operate Asaba, Warri and Benin and on Friday it delayed its Calabar to Lagos flights till Saturday.
When it landed in Calabar, Friday, it could not get back to Lagos that evening because of airport visual flight rule which restricted night operation due to lack of airfield lighting.
First Nation Airways and Medview operated was Lagos Abuja flight; but Medview was able to operate Abuja to Yola flights and cancelled the rest of their flights.
There are indications that flights today will be cancelled while it has also been suggested that by Monday the nation’s economy will be paralysed as there would be no domestic flight operations.
Aero in a statement apologized to costumers, it said, “Due to the general scarcity of aviation fuel (Jet A1) in the country, the airline will not be able to operate over 80 per cent of her domestic flights as scheduled.
In the last few weeks, the supply of aviation fuel has been very irregular, which has compelled the airline to cancel some flights. We apologise to our esteemed customers for the inconvenience they may have been experiencing due to flight delays and cancellations caused by the scarcity of aviation fuel.
“We urge our customers to always check our website at www.flyaero.com or contact the call centre agent on 016284140 to affirm if their scheduled flight will operate. Aero regrets any inconvenience the changes will cause. All measures are being made to ameliorate the situation and revert to her regular flight schedule. We hope that the situation improves very soon.”
On Friday all the tank farms at the airport in Lagos seemed drained and trucking from the Apapa depot had since stopped. Domestic carriers need over 2.5 million litres of aviation fuel every day for full flight operation but by
Regarding international flights airlines have been delaying flights for up to 48 hours and by Thursday, many of the airlines arrived Nigeria with fuel and only top up on arrival and it was while waiting to top up fuel that the flights are delayed.
Virgin Atlantic on Thursday had to fly to Ghana to refuel before airlifting its Nigerian flights to London while many of the airlines with large body aircraft arrived Nigeria fully laden with return and endurance fuel as they had been forewarned of the fuel scarcity rocking the nation.
An insider explained the situation saying; “Many of the foreign airlines only need to top up their tank with about 45,000 to 50, 000 litres of fuel; they come here fully loaded but just needed top up. British Airways which operates Boeing 747 aircraft which can fly non-stop for 14 hours come here with all the fuel it needs, but then it has to face the challenge of take-off weight; that is why they may come with a little less and then top up in Nigeria.”
The failure of the oil marketers to airlift petroleum products due to government’s inability to pay the huge subsidy debts, amounting to several billions of naira, prompted the National Union of National Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum and National Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PEGASSAN) to embark on strike, demanding payment for their services.
Earlier today, Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala vowed not to pay the fuel marketers the millions they are requesting while slamming allegations by vice-president elect, Pro. Yemi Osinbajo that President Goodluck Jonathan’s adminstration will be leaving $60 billion debt burden for the in-coming government.
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