The Aviation Safety Roundtable Initiative (ASRI) has urged the federal government to implement a fuel-for-stability scheme that would deliver crude oil to local refiners for the production of aviation fuel.
The group said it would scrap the purported N60 billion subsidy plan to the airlines and give lasting relief to Nigeria’s suffering aviation sector including other operators in the industry, writes The Guardian.
ASRTI President, Ademola Onitiju, made the call in a message to aviation journalists yesterday.
The main threat to viability of domestic airline operations, he contended, was the growing cost of Jet A1 fuel.
He said the rates of Jet A1 had stayed between N1,650 and N2,037 per litre, hence making fuel cost about 50 per cent of the operating cost of airlines and causing airlines to hike ticket prices beyond the grasp of ordinary Nigerians.
He attacked the prior intervention by the federal government, which he said gave airlines N60 billion in invoice reductions, adding that the effort did not provide any real advantages for operators, passengers or the broader aviation value chain.
He said the action has also not resulted in any meaningful growth for industries related to aviation such as cargo logistics, tourism and hospitality.
He said: “The flaws are clear! Jet A1 pricing has been the same. Airline debts still exist. We haven’t noticed travelers enjoying reduced fares either. No growth has been recorded in the cargo logistics, tourist and hospitality sectors.
“The aviation ecosystem – airlines, agencies, concessionaires, ground handlers – got no structural relief from that hollow N60 billion largesse.”
He argued cheap air travel would not only be good for passengers but could also drive market growth, improve airline load factors and produce the economies of scale needed for long-term viability.
“No country with a population of more than 220 million people should be running an aviation market that is only available to a few people,” Onitiju said.
He pointed to countries including India, Turkey, Indonesia and Brazil that revolutionized their aviation sectors with measures to ensure fuel stability, affordability, traffic growth and operational efficiency.
While commending the federal government’s work to restore the confidence of global aircraft lessors and develop local aircraft maintenance skills, Onitiju said there is need for more intentional market-shaping policies to unlock the full potential of the aviation industry.
He said deliberate reforms to reduce operating costs will make air travel more accessible, increase competitiveness and encourage wider economic growth.
“Nigeria needs to learn from the experiences of the United States, Europe and Latin America. The focus must be on ecological transformation, not on single actions with uncertain returns.
“The model, if adopted, is less costly to the government and provides recovery, affordability and sustainable growth across the industry,” he added.
Meanwhile, the National President of Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers, Bayo Olanrewaju-Alo, has urged President Tinubu to promptly focus on diesel price relief for productive sectors following the U.S.-Israel war and Iran war that impacted crude and refined product flows.
He told journalists at the University of Lagos yesterday that diesel is used to move goods, distribute food, manufacture products, power telecoms infrastructure, hospitals and small and medium enterprises.
To this purpose, he recommended the government should make robust laws which would give targeted assistance to registered mass transport operators, food logistics providers and critical productive sectors to decrease inflationary pressures.
He also highlighted the necessity for the government to take temporary, transparent and targeted steps, to alleviate the suffering of the public.
He said the current fuel price shock required deliberate and planned involvement and not a return to blanket subsidies that are fiscally unsustainable.
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