Domestic airfares to rise further as aviation fuel hits N1,600 per litre

By Chukwuemeka Iwelunmo

Air passengers and airline operators are in for difficult times as the price of Jet A1, popularly referred to as aviation fuel, has been hiked by oil marketers in the aviation sector, findings by The Daily Times have shown.

In an investigation conducted by our Correspondent, it was revealed that with effect from today, 20th February 2024, prices of aviation fuel in different parts of the country, for instance, in Abuja and Port Harcourt, the price per litre will be sold for N1, 522 while it will be sold for N1,480 and N1,530 in Lagos and Kano respectively.

Checks have however, revealed that domestic airline operators will have no choice than to hike airfares in order to meet their cost of operations while the burden will be shifted to passengers.

Airline operators have been grappling with multiple taxation, airport infrastructure decay and weather-related issues.

Meanwhile, the Chief Operating Officer of United Nigeria Airways, Mazi Osita Okonkwo while speaking with journalists, identified very high charges as part of the challenges airlines are facing, with MMA2 charging N7,000 per passenger and all state-owned airports increasing their charges.

According to him, handling companies have introduced extremely high charges, adding that the minimum cost of air fare should be $US100. The Naira exchanges above N1500 per dollar as of Monday.

Okonkwo said the airline has operated flights daily to its various destinations since February 12, 2021, when it started operations with an inaugural flight from Lagos to Enugu.

Okonkwo said the airline currently has staff strength of 500 employees with many of them working with UNA as their first jobs in life.

“We have created additional 1,500 indirect jobs,” he said, adding that in a few weeks, “we will reach one million passenger mark.”