Airfares set to increase as Nigeria, Ghana run out of aviation fuel

- Foreign airlines operating in Nigeria are panicking over current fuel shortage on the West African coast

- The situation may affect their operations especially as we approach the festive season

- Some airlines are going as far as Gabon to get fuel

A report by The Guardian indicates that there is shortage of aviation fuel in Nigerian and Ghana.

According to the report, the situation may affect the operations of foreign airlines on the West African coast especially as we approach the festive season.

Nigeria is the major market for aviation fuel in Africa, while Ghana has lately become the aviation fuel hub for most airlines.

In July, Ghana’s government slashed the price of aviation fuel by 20 per cent as part of its plan to make Accra the West African hub for air travel. The price cut was attractive as most airlines began to fuel in Ghana.

The development has prompted some airlines to make a detour in Libreville, Gabon, for fuel.

Aviation sources quoted in the report say airlines may begin to ration flights to Nigeria during the festive season, especially when there is no guarantee of getting fuel in neighbouring countries.

The ripple effect of this is the increase in airfares for both domestic and international travels.

A foreign airline’s head of operations, who spoke on the condition of anonymity said:

“We are becoming apprehensive because that is not a good sign at all. Without fuel, there are no flight services. In the last 12 months, there has been no fuel in Nigeria.

“The priority is not on aviation fuel but on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS). That is the truth. Despite efforts to plan ahead with your marketers, fuel shortage can just hit you in the face. No one wants to be in that dire situation.”

Regional Manager, North, West and Central Africa for South African Airways (SAA), Ohis Ehimiaghe, confirmed that development.

His words: “In the last two weeks, there has been total dryness of aviation fuel supply. We have to go to neighbouring countries, especially Ghana to lift fuel.

“Ghana is running dry of the commodity too. There are times when we have fuel in abundance but many times we don’t have at all.

“Our Abuja flights have been flying by Libreville to lift fuel. This is an additional cost to our operations.”

On his part, the executive secretary of Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Obafemi Olawole, said that the shortage could be blamed on difficulty in sourcing foreign exchange, often not available to importers at the interbank market rate.

He stated that MOMAN its members were doing their best to make the product available in Nigeria, but lamented that they do not have enough support from key government agencies.

Meanwhile, security experts in the aviation industry recently warned that terror attacks are imminent at airports around the country.

The experts made their views known at the breakfast meeting of the Aviation Safety Round Table (ASRT), a think-tank group of the aviation sector.