Nigerian airlines are grappling with a sharp increase in their operational costs as the price of aviation fuel recently soared by 20 per cent following the escalating war between the US and Iran.
This has disrupted crude shipments, while recent attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure by Iran-backed Houthis have opened a new front in an already fragile energy market.
A Daily Sun survey of airports across the country shows that more than 18 aviation fuel marketers supply Jet A1, with prices varying significantly from one airport to another. In Lagos, the price ranges from N1,719 to N2,100 per litre, with only two marketers selling at an average of N1,750. In Abuja, one marketer sells at N1,769 per litre, another at N1,844, while prices from other marketers range between N1,190 and N2,150.
Similarly in Kano, the cheapest fuel sells for N1,794 by just one marketer while others sell for between N1,851 and N2,047. Only five fuel marketers supply jet A1 in Port Harcourt with the cheapest going for N1,764 while others sell for between N1,904 and N2,109. In Anambra, fuel is sold for N2,047, while in Benin, it is sold for N1,990. In Enugu, fuel is sold for N1,990, while in Ilorin and Sokoto, it is sold for N2,120 and N2,138 respectively.
Since the crisis started in the first quarter of the year, the cost of fuel has spiked leading to an astronomical increase in the operational cost of both international and domestic airlines. The worst hit are the domestic operators who are still grappling with a difficult business environment and slim profit margins.
On April 14, the Airline Operators in Nigeria (AON) wrote a letter to the Executive Secretary of the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), Clement Isong, warning of a nationwide shutdown of flight operations from April 20, 2026, citing a steep and unsustainable rise in the cost of aviation fuel.
At the time, AON said the price of Jet A1 fuel had surged from N900 per litre as of February 28 to N3,300 per litre, representing an increase of over 300 per cent within a few weeks. The operators described the spike as “astronomical and unsustainable,” alleging that it is artificial and inconsistent with global oil market trends.
The group said airlines had absorbed the rising costs for more than four weeks out of a sense of national duty but warned that the situation has become untenable. It said that airline revenues were insufficient to cover the cost of fuel alone and that continued operations under the high cost were no longer viable. AON further accused fuel marketers of actions that are “decimating the aviation industry,” warning of wider implications for Nigeria’s economy, safety, and national security.
Though the cost of fuel eventually went down after the April crisis, there has been an increase again as crude hits $108 per barrel. Shipments have been disrupted with the attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities by Iran-backed Houthis have worsened the situation.
The AON has in the past months, sought to have an audience with President Bola Tinubu over the challenges they are facing.
The Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, in his keynote speech at the 30th annual conference of the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) held in Lagos recently with theme: “Towards a Sustainable Aviation Industry: Balancing Government Revenue Demands with Sector Growth”, said that the designation of Nigeria by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) as the worst place in the world to establish airline business would be a thing of the past the minute the President gets to know the factors that led to such designation.
Onyema who is the Vice President of the AON said that the financial crisis bedevilling the airlines can be solved by the intervention of President Tinubu. Onyema said that domestic airlines yearn for an audience with Tinubu whom he described as a listening President, saying that what will put to an end the high mortality rate of Nigerian operators is when there is amicable tax and charges system that protects the airlines, aviation agencies and the traveling public in a win-win situation.
He said, “One thing I must say is that I’m certain any day President Bola Tinubu sees us, if they allow us to see him, because I know he will not mind to meet with us, that will be the day a new revolution in the airline industry in this country will occur because the President abhors anything capable of affecting indigenous businesses that provide jobs for the people adversely.
“I remember when we complained to the Comptroller General of Customs, Mr. Adewale Adeniyi of the debilitating effects of the newly introduced 4% FOB customs duty on airlines. He, Wale Adeniyi, took it up with the presidency the same day. I was there in the Presidential Villa with the Customs boss, a fantastic man. This President acted swiftly and waived it for airlines within hours of being made to understand the would-be effects of such a charge on the viability of indigenous Nigerian airlines.”
