Nigeria’s airlines are to stop domestic operations from Monday in protest of the spiralling cost of jet fuel. It has risen almost fourfold this year, which was unsustainable, the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) said. The hikes have been triggered principally by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the end of February. AON, which represents Nigeria’s nine domestic carriers, said the airlines had been having to subsidise services over the last four months. There have been many flight cancellations and delays since March, often blamed on a shortage of jet fuel. The price of tickets has also tripled on some routes in recent weeks. Passengers in Nigeria pay for fares in naira, the local currency that has been devaluing. However, fuel suppliers need to be paid in US dollars. Despite being Africa’s largest oil producer, Nigeria imports almost all its jet fuel. AON said that it had told the government, MPs, the state-owned oil company and the association representing fuel sellers that something needed to be done to bring costs down. The hikes could not be fully passed on to passengers as they were “already experiencing a lot of difficulties”, it said.
SOURCE: BBC
More Stories
What are the Benefits and Costs of Scaling-up the Commercial Production of Bioenergy in Africa?
Faculty of Harvard University and Africa.com Offer Online Course for Entrepreneurs in Food Systems
FTX was Becoming a Force for Normalizing Cryptocurrencies in Africa
Ethiopia Announces Its First Commercial Export of Electricity to Kenya
African Union Calls for Inclusive Tax Regulations
Entrepreneurship Holds the Key to Africa’s Wealth Creation
Creating Africa’s Cocoa Cartel
Harare Shifts the Goal Posts in Farmer Deal
Investing in Nigeria’s Property Boon
UjuziNet is Helping Farmers Better Manage their Operations
Isabel dos Santos Denies Trying to Escape the Law in Angola
Nairobi’s Concerns Halt Possible Export of Baobab