Jet A1 price hike: Airline operators suspend nationwide flight shutdown
Oredola Adeola
Nigerian airline operators have suspended Monday’s nationwide shut down of domestic flight operations in protest against the skyrocketing price of aviation fuel, Jet A1. Airlines Operators of Nigeria(AON) made this known in a statement signed by the President, Abdulmunaf Yunusa Sarina, and other members of the association and released on Sunday.
The reason for the suspension of the shut-down according to AON was due to the intervention and call for dialogue by the Federal Government with operators in seeking to find a lasting solution to hike in price of aviation fuel.
The statement for the suspension was signed by the Executive Director, Max Air, Alhaji Shehu Wada; the Chairman, United Nigeria Airlines, Dr. Obiora Okonkwo; the CEO, Arik Air, Capt. Roy Ilegbodu; the CEO, Aero Contractors, Capt. Abdullahi Mahmood; the MD, Azman Air, Faisal Abdulmunaf, and Chairman, Air Peace, Barr. Allen Onyema.
The statement read, “The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) wishes to inform the general public that further to numerous calls from the highest echelons in government with promises to urgently intervene in the crises being faced by airlines due to the astronomic and continuously rising cost of JetA1, that the AON has acceded to requests to withdraw the action for the time being while we allow for a fresh round of dialogue with the government in the hope of reaching an amicable solution.
“We have also reached this decision with the highest consideration for our esteemed customers who have been faced with uncertainty over the last few days and to enable them to have access to travel to their various destinations for the time being during the period of discussions with relevant authorities.
“In view of the above and in the interest of national economy and security considerations, AON hereby wishes to notify the general public that the earlier announced shutdown of operations on May 9, 2022 is hereby suspended in good fate pending the outcome of hopefully fruitful engagement with government.”
