Airline operators have been advised to sell flight tickets in line with fluctuating price of Jet A1, commonly known as aviation fuel.
Operators have however said if this happens, a one-way flight ticket would cost no less than N150,000.
Jet A1 is currently sold for about N900 per litre.
President of the Aviation Safety and Round Table Initiative (ASRTI), Dr Gabriel Olowo, in a statement, said given the uncontrollable factors of production in the airline industry sector, it was best to factor in price fluctuations in ticket sales.
He said there was bound to be a drop in demand but it was much better than cutting corners and planning an accident.
“If fuel is 4,000 litres for a one-hour on jet (LOS-ABV) for example at N800 per litre, which gives N3,200,000, and a load factor of 100 passengers, this means fuel cost per passenger is N32,000 and this is approximately 30 per cent of total cost.
“This will translate to a N107,000 tariff for one way journey. PHCN (power firms) have introduced a premium tariff on power and those who can afford it are settling for it. This is not the time for frivolous and reckless competition nor uneconomic patriotism,” he said.
Olowo also called for increased vigilance of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), saying a price increase was better than negotiating safety by cutting corners.
Meanwhile, the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) said operations had been threatened and that they were in “a life and death” situation.
AON, in a statement yesterday, also explained that the Jet A1 crisis which began in February had further worsened and threatened airlines’ operations.
The price of Jet A1 rose suddenly from N200 in December, 2021, to over N400 per litre in February. Today the price has skyrocketed to over N800 per litre,” it added.
AON had threatened a strike action in May but the government intervened.
“To say the least, airlines are in a ‘life and death’ struggle to secure the foreign exchange that they urgently need to acquire spare parts to ensure the regular routine and scheduled maintenance of aircraft,” AON stated.
