Hundreds Of Passengers Stranded In Abuja Airport As Scarcity Of Jet A1 Fuel Bites Harder

Hundreds of air passengers are stranded at Nigeria’s second busiest airport, the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja over shortage of aircrafts.

Flights are either cancelled or shifted on Sunday as airlines are forced to operate with fewer aircrafts.

THE WHISLTER can confirm that hundreds of air passengers are stranded at the boarding room of the Abuja airport as passengers of Azman Air, Air Peace, Ibom Air among others are being frustrated by the fuel shortage that is facing Nigeria’s aviation sector.

Nigerian airlines are battling the twin shocks of aviation fuel price and shortage of foreign exchange to run their operations.

Airlines like Aero Contractor have suspended operations indefinitely, while the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority suspended the Transport Licence (ATL) and Air Operator Certificate (AOC) of Dana Air over the airline’s inability to fund operations.

Currently, many aircrafts could not fly due to the inability of airlines to fuel them.

For instance, some aircrafts are packed without fuel, while passengers are stranded.
Henry, an Azman Air passenger travelling to Kebbi State told THE WHISTLER that the experience is frustrating.

Henry said, “My flight was rescheduled from 2:20pm to 5:45pm. As at 5:39pm, there was no sign of my flight coming in. Other people are also stranded. We don’t know what is happening.

“People are stranded and disorganized. This is not good for us as a country. I’m not happy.”

Aviation fuel rose to over N650 per litre in June 2022, from N280 per litre in the same period in 2021 driven by the rising price of crude oil in the international market.

Airlines saod that Jet A1 fuel account for 40 per cent of their operation cost.

Last week, airlines warned their customers about flight disruptions and cancellations over the challenges in the sector.

“This is to bring to your notice that the growing unavailability of aviation fuel has greatly impacted on our operations, leading to flight delays. At this point, it might now result in some flight cancellations,” Ibom Air had notified their customers.

This report was assisted by Justina Okoronkwo.