Airline Operators Justify Incessant Delays, Cancellation of Domestic Flights

The Airline Operators of Nigeria on Tuesday justified the delay and cancellations of domestic airline operations hinged the reason on unavailability and rising cost of aviation fuel (JetA1) and inadequate parking space.

The group, led by the Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, stated this on Wednesday in Abuja.

They appeared before the Senate Committee on Aviation, chaired by Senator Smart Adeyemi.

They also demanded for the prosecution of unruly passengers at the airports.

Onyema, who claimed that on several occasions JetA1 becomes scarce nationwide and has affected airline operations around the country, added that at times the operators go extra mile to fulfill their obligation to customers by looking for the fuel at the black market.

He said: “Apart from crippling issue of shortage of Jet A-1, the marketers have been increasing the price of the product consistently in the recent past to unbearable point.

“As at April this year, Jet A-1 fuel sold for about N230 a litre.

“About a month ago in May, the price jumped to between N250 and N255.

“As at today the price has skyrocketed to an average of N280 to N300 a litre, depending on if you are buying in Lagos or Abuja.

“This has greatly increased our operational cost.”

The CEO of Peace Airline also hinged the cancellation and delay of flights inadequate parking space for aircraft, explaining that during the rush hour between 6:39am and 8:30am, there are usually between 14 and 15 aircraft departure out of the local airport in Lagos.

Unfortunately, the apron at Muritala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, for instance, can only accommodate a maximum of six aircraft at a time and the newly built apron can accommodate another three to four aircraft.

This means jostle for parking space, which also causes delay.

Other reasons cited by Onyema are unavailability of foreign exchange for spare parts and maintenance, sudden change of weather, day due to VIP movement, inefficient passenger access and facilitation, delay clearance of spare parts from Customs and inadequate screening and exit points at departure.

On unruly behaviour, Onyema called for the prosecution of some passengers, lamenting that some have slapped their staff for no just reason and some of their computers have been destroyed by these passengers.

But the members of the Committee kicked against the reasons presented by the Airline Operators of Nigeria, saying something cogent must be done by operators to address the causes of delays and cancellations.

Specifically, Senator Abba Moro said the excuses of the Airline Operators of Nigeria is not the tradition in other countries across the world.

Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the Committee said the purpose of the meeting was to address the issue of causes of delay and cancellations in domestic airline operations in the country and also look at the state of the airports across the country and safety measure put in place.

July 08, 2021