Airlines Face Fresh Turbulence Over Jet Fuel Scarcity

By Adedapo Adesanya

The National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) has revealed that Nigerian airlines are battling a severe jet fuel crisis, triggered by soaring jet fuel prices and supply shortages.

This is the latest blow to the aviation industry, which escaped an industrial action by airline operators over the price of jet fuel.

The latest development is increasing costs, disrupting flights and creating concerns about operational safety and sustainability.

According to Reuters, the persistent scarcity of jet fuel has triggered ⁠widespread operational challenges, including flight delays, route adjustments and extended crew duty periods, as airlines struggle to manage schedules amid rising costs.

According to the President of the association, Captain Bunmi Gindeh, the fuel shortages were pushing crews beyond planned limits, increasing fatigue and potentially eroding safety margins in an industry governed by strict rest regulations.

According to local carrier Rano Air, it revealed that jet fuel prices had more than quadrupled, as well as made some routes commercially unsustainable, forcing operational adjustments.

Other carriers have also begun rescheduling or cancelling flights and cutting unprofitable routes, industry ‌sources ⁠cited by Reuters said.

This comes at a difficult time for Nigeria’s aviation sector, already strained by foreign-exchange volatility, high aircraft maintenance costs, airport infrastructure strains and fuel price swings.

Airlines group, Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), last month threatened to suspend operations over what they described as crippling and artificially inflated jet fuel prices.

Nigeria’s airline industry carries millions ⁠of passengers annually across an extensive domestic network and plays a critical role in connecting cities where road travel is often slow or insecure, making reliable air services economically and socially important.

The publication reported that the Nigerian Midstream ⁠and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has said fuel prices would not be capped, adding that any decisions on deregulated products would be formally communicated.

The crisis is worsening existing problems in Nigeria’s aviation sector, including forex instability, expensive aircraft maintenance and weak infrastructure.