300% fuel hike: Airlines demand debt waiver or face imminent shutdown
The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has demanded a total waiver of debts owed to aviation agencies, on account of the unsustainable 300 per cent increase in aviation fuel prices in the country.
They conveyed the demand at an emergency meeting convened by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, to ward off a looming shutdown of domestic flight operations.
Speaking at the meeting, AON Vice President and Chairman of Air Peace, Dr. Allen Onyema, lamented that airlines were bleeding financially due to the disproportionate hike in fuel costs, which l had risen by about 300 per cent compared to global crude oil price movements.
“We are asking for a total waiver of all debts owed to aviation agencies. The airlines are under severe strain and cannot continue to borrow just to pay for fuel while neglecting critical obligations like maintenance,” Onyema said.
According to him, the threat to suspend operations was not a bargaining strategy but a reflection of the dire financial realities facing operators.
Airlines, he said, had reached a level where continued operations would compromise safety and sustainability.
He maintained that anything short of a full waiver would be insufficient to stabilise the sector.
Onyema also sought urgent reforms in access to financing, noting that high interest rates—often above 30 per cent in Nigeria—were crippling airline operations, compared to single-digit rates obtainable globally.
Minister Keyamo confirmed that the Federal Government had stepped in swiftly to prevent disruption to air travel, following the operators’ warning.
He hinted that he had briefed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of the meeting and secured presidential backing for immediate intervention.
He said the President had directed that formal requests from the airlines be submitted urgently, particularly regarding debt relief.
He disclosed that a huge discount on debts owed to agencies such as the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) was under consideration.
He announced that the President had approved the setting up of a committee to review multiple taxes, levies, and charges imposed on domestic tickets, with a view to reducing the cost burden on both operators and passengers.
