Aviation Fuel Scarcity Leaves Passengers Stranded At Abuja Airport, Disrupts Flights

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Some air passengers are currently stranded at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport as airline operators jostle for aviation fuel, amidst scarcity that is getting worse.

Aviation fuel, otherwise called Jet-A1, is a specialised type of petroleum-based fuel used to power aircraft and normally accounts for over 30 per cent of the operation cost of an airline.

The price of Jet A1, otherwise known as aviation fuel, has risen to N700 per litre in some airports in the country.

Airline operators had alleged that some marketers were hoarding the fuel.

They said the marketers are causing artificial scarcity of the product in the country.

On Sunday, SaharaReporters gathered that Air Peace and Dana Air passengers were left stranded for several hours at the Abuja airport over lack of fuel to fly aircraft to their various destinations.

“The flights affected are Air Peace, Abuja to Lagos and Dana Air, Abuja to Port Harcourt

“Passengers have been stranded for more than two hours and it is because of lack of fuel,” a source at the airport tells SaharaReporters on Sunday.

Last week, Nigerian airlines informed passengers to expect possible flight disruptions due to the “prolonged scarcity of aviation fuel” and an increase in the product price.

According to Allen Onyema, chief executive officer of Air Peace, who spoke for airline operators, the price of aviation fuel moved from N190 per litre to N670 per litre.

Onyema said the operators would have shut down operations if not for the political season and to support the current administration that had been supportive of the sector.