By John Ikani
Airlines in Nigeria are set to further hike air fares as the price of Jet A1, otherwise known as aviation fuel has risen astronomically in one week, selling for N607 per litre in some airports in the country.
Last week, the price of the product rose from N426 per litre to N400 to a litre.
The product sold at N190 per litre in the local market in February 2021 and went on to record about 90 percent increase, selling between N350 and N370 per litre in the local market by the end of the year.
Checks by local media Daily Independent, revealed that the product goes for N599 per litre in Abuja and Port Harcourt airport; N577 and N581 per litre at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, while the same quantity goes for N607 per litre at the Aminu Kano International Airport (AKIA).
Information gathered from one of the operators indicated that the price of the product may rise further before the end of the month due to its scarcity, while airlines have continued to delay and cancel flights due to the scarcity of Jet A1 in the last two months.
Also, it was gathered that fuel marketers now ration the product for airlines due to scarcity attributed to the rise in foreign exchange and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
The latest hike comes just days after the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) had accused Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) of unanimously fixing airfares base to N50,000 minimum.
FCCPC in its report, accused AON, the umbrella body of indigenous airlines of encourag¬ing and ensuring price-fixing, saying the airlines colluded to increase air fares against section 107 (1)(a) and section 108 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018 (FCCPA).
A statement signed by Mr. Babatunde Irukera, the Executive Vice Chairman, FCCPC, insisted that the airlines were culpable as they did so in a coordinated manner, stressing that the FCCPA prohibits conduct or any coordination between competitors including on the platform of trade associations.
