Nigerian airlines suspend operations due to fuel price hike

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A dozen Nigerian airlines will suspend domestic flights from next Monday because of the recent rise in fuel prices since the start of the Ukrainian war, the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) said.

Over the past four months, the price of fuel “has risen from 190 naira per liter (about 0.43 euros) to 700 naira currently (1.60 euros),” the AON said Friday in a letter reported by local media and addressed to the country’s aviation minister, Sadi Sirika, and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, EFE reported.

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According to the organization, while the cost of fuel should represent “40% of an airline’s overall operating cost, the current hike has pushed the cost in Nigeria to around 95%,” an increase they consider “astronomical” and which has also had an impact on ticket prices.

This increase puts “enormous pressure on the sustainability of operations and the financial viability of the airlines,” reads the letter, which has led the companies to “halt operations nationwide as from Monday, May 9”.

Among the signatories are companies such as Max Air, Ibom Air and United Nigerian Airlines, as well as Air Peace, the country’s and West Africa’s largest airline.

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