Aviation fuel: Airline operators meet Reps’ leadership over plan to shut down flight operations.

May 10, 2022

Airline Operators of Nigeria, AON, yesterday reached a truce with the leadership of the House of Representatives and other government agencies to cancel the plan of shutting down flight operations in the country. It will be recalled that the operators last Friday, announced plan to stop flight operations due to the high of cost aviation fuel that had risen to N700 per litre.The development prompted the leadership of the House to intervene in the matter, with a view to finding a solution to the problem. At the meeting attended by the operators, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC, Mele Kyari, the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria CBN, Godwin Emefiele, and the operators agreed to cancel the planned suspension.

The meeting, chaired by speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, resolved that the government would make available six million liters of fuel.

Reading the resolutions of the meeting that lasted for about four hours, Gbajabiamila also urged the operator to begin the process of getting their own license to import the product.

He said: “That we move the language of suspension to canceled. That the issues of shut down has been canceled, based on this meeting.

“NNPC and airline operators have both agreed that in the interim of three months, marketers of choice that you are comfortable with and that you know their mark up will not drive you out of business, would be supplied with jet fuel. We talked about N550 or something like that.

“The third resolution is that at the mid to long term, in fact right now, you will begin the process of application for your own license to be able to import your own jet fuel. To assist you in your business.

“Also tie to the benevolence of the CBN governor that six million litres are available now at N480. You will get allocation for the next three months through the companies you have nominated.

“In the process of application for license, midstream should as much as possible grant waivers that would not touch on the security and safety of the process. Committee chairmen on aviation and downstream should follow up.”