Ibom Air Warns Of Flight Cuts Over Rising Aviation Fuel Costs

One of Nigeria’s airline operators, Ibom Air, has warned that the rising cost of aviation fuel could force the company to reduce its capacity in order to continue providing services to its customers.

In a statement signed by its Group Manager, Marketing and Communication, Aniekan Essienette, the airline said that if the situation persists much longer, it will not be able to continue operating just to pay for fuel and nothing else.

The company described the fuel price situation as an unprecedented crisis for Nigeria’s domestic airlines.

“At Ibom Air, the cost of fueling our aircraft has more than tripled between January and today. From an average of N2.1m per flight in January, as at today, the 26th of April, we are paying approximately N7.6m to fuel every flight. This is a more than 350% increase since the beginning of March, a space of just seven weeks. And our aircraft are some of the most fuel-efficient in the domestic market,” the statement read in part.

Ibom Air questioned why the price of aviation fuel in Nigeria has risen to this level, far above the rest of the world, while fuel marketers obtain 95 per cent or more of their aviation fuel from Dangote Refinery.

“The situation is exacerbated by the fact that a combination of competitive pressures and patriotism have prevented a commensurate increase in our fares, meaning that we and our fellow domestic airlines have had to absorb the immense operating losses resulting from this situation,” the statement added.

It further stated: “We chose to do this believing that the crisis would pass in a week or two, but it has persisted now for nearly two months, continuously increasing, with no reprieve in sight as at today. While we continue to do everything we can to maintain normal operations, it is clear to us that the current conditions are unsustainable.

“We note that, worldwide, where fuel price increases are nowhere near what we are facing in Nigeria, airlines are reducing flights to manage the situation. We, too, will have to take whatever ameliorating actions we can in the days ahead, including reducing our capacity if necessary, to be able to continue to provide services to our customers and our country. We also note that, if this situation persists much longer, airlines will not be able to continue operating just to pay for fuel and nothing else.”

The airline called on fuel marketers to seriously reconsider the pricing of aviation fuel to ensure the airline business model remains viable in Nigeria.

Following hours of meeting with airline operators last week, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, hinted at a possible hike in the price of airfares for the next to allow domestic airlines to keep operating and avert a possible shutdown of operations.

“Airlines cannot continue to operate for the next seven days without raising prices, so let that be clear to the public; they have been stretched to their limit,” Keyamo said.

He also revealed that key stakeholders would explore fair pricing for Jet A1 fuel to tackle areas where there is possible exploitation by marketers to deliberately punish Nigerians.