Arik Air significantly reduces its number of flights in response to aviation fuel scarcity

ARIK Air has announced a significant reduction in the number of flights it operates into and within Nigeria as a result of the ongoing scarcity of aviation fuel that has made it difficult for airlines to run their aircraft.

 

Over recent years, airlines operating in Nigeria have been struggling to get hold of Jet A1 aviation fuel, with many of them having to go to neighbouring countries to fill up. Due to limited refining capacity as a result of none of the nation's refineries operating at full tilt, airlines have begun rationing supplies.

 

Ola Adebanji, Arik's spokesman, said that aviation fuel scarcity started manifesting last week when major oil marketers began to ration supply of the product to airlines. He added that the reduction will reduce unpleasant flight delays and cancellations which passengers have experienced in recent times.

 

“With a daily fuel need of about 500,000 litres and an average of over 100 daily flights, Arik Air is mostly affected by this scarcity which is the fourth this year alone. One of the airline’s flights to Johannesburg on Tuesday had to be routed via Port Harcourt to pick up fuel.

 

“As a result of the worsening supply situation of aviation fuel, Arik Air has announced further reduction in flights from November 16 to cope with the fresh scarcity. This development has started taking its toll on Arik Air due to the airline’s large scale operations, with flights being delayed across the country and, in some cases, cancelled especially for airports without airfield lighting,” Mr Adebanji added.

 

According to the airline, an oil marketer issued a Notice to Airmen on Saturday, alerting them of the non-availability of the product in Lagos. Arik Air added that another marketer said it was running out of the product in Lagos with limited supplies in Port Harcourt and Abuja.

 

It appealed for the understanding of its customers whose flights were likely to be affected by the scarcity and scaling down of operations. Arik said that would notify passengers through SMS or email messages in situations where flights would be delayed or cancelled due to the scarcity.

 

Over the weekend, minister of state for aviation Hadi Sirika, assured stakeholders in the sector that the government was making efforts to address the scarcity. He said that the long-term target of the government was to ensure local production of aviation fuel to make the product easily available for airline operators.