Nigerian airlines may shut down due to fuel hike

The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has raised fears that three airlines in the country may soon shut down operations due to the high cost of aviation fuel which has hit N714 per litre.

Allen Onyema, the Vice-President of AON, made this known on Tuesday while speaking at the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria National Aviation Conference in Abuja.

He said: “That is why we ran to the government and the Federal Government has given us about 10,000 metric tonnes of fuel at the cost of N580 per litre in Lagos and about N607 per litre outside Lagos.

“This is not the only issue. Since the COVID-19 crisis, most airlines all over the world, including Nigeria have not recovered from COVID-19, except those whose countries have injected so much funds to assist them. This is nobody’s fault. It just happened. The government has tried its best by giving us this aviation fuel. This aviation fuel can take airlines out, not only in Nigeria but everywhere in the world.