Nigerians warned against air travel amid fuel shortage

Nigeria’s airline operators on Friday warned passengers against travelling due to a shortage of aviation fuel.

The spokesperson, Professor Obiora Okonkwo, says passengers should expect flight cancellations.

“There will be major disruption in scheduled flight operations, including cancellation and unnecessary delays across all airports in the country.” Okonkwo said in a statement.

The body says aviation fuel prices have risen by about 400% since December 2021.

Mr Okonkwo added that other than the fuel shortage, other problems facing the aviation sector are the closure of one runway at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos and the unavailability of US dollars to purchase spare parts for grounded aircraft.

Out of the 10 airlines that form the umbrella body, two have grounded their flights.

The country’s Civil Aviation Authority shut down Dana Air on 20 July because of financial reasons and recurrent flight problems, while Aero contractors temporarily stopped its services due to the high cost of running the airline and a shortage of aviation fuel.

This article originally appeared in BBC News

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