Why aviation fuel is scarce-Airline

The scarcity of aviation fuel in the country has been attributed to the diversion of Jet A1 in place of kerosene as aviation fuel is now cheaper than kerosene.

Aside the scarcity of Jet A1 occasioned by the difficulty in sourcing foreign exchange to import the commodity, most homes now use aviation fuel in place of kerosene.

This disclosure was made by Director, Flight Operations, First Nation Airways, Capt Chimara Umediegwu at a press briefing to intimate the media on the operations of the airlines, noting that the carrier would be back in operation before September 16, 2016.

A litre of aviation fuel goes for between N195 and N220 while a litre of kerosene goes for between N300 and N400.

Jet fuel is basically kerosene on steroids. Kerosene is sometimes used synonymously with jet fuel in some conversation.

The difference is that little chemical is added to bring out aviation fuel from kerosene.

Umediegwu however stated that the problem associated with scarcity of aviation fuel would soon be a thing of the past when government finalises work on Kaduna refinery that would be dedicated to solely the refining of aviation fuel.

Meanwhile the management of FirstNation Airways has given insight into why it suspended its flight operations mid-last month.

This is as the airline also attributed dearth of Nigerian airlines to inconsistency in government policies and unfriendly business environment.

Speaking with aviation journalists in Lagos yesterday, Capt. Imediegwu said that it suspended operations due to inadequate equipment in its fleet.

He explained that airline two of the airline’s aircraft developed some snags, which affected its operations, adding that it grounded operations voluntarily with the knowledge of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA.

He said, “We had a snag in one of our aircraft and not a C-Check as claimed in some quarters. We carried out a troubleshooting on the aircraft and we were not satisfied with its performance. So, we decided to ground our operations pending the time when the three aircraft would be in perfect position.

“Manufacturers engineers would be in the country either by 8^th or 9^th this month. Immediately they arrive, they would effect repairs on the aircraft and I can assure you that we will return to flight operations by 15^thSeptember, 2016.

FirstNation has three Airbus320 aircraft in its fleet.

Imediegwu further mentioned instability in the nation’s political environment, poor economy, policy summersault, dwindling fortune of naira against major currencies, difficulty in foreign exchange and Jet A1 scarcity as some of the factors responsible for dearth of Nigeria’s carriers.

For instance, he emphasised that the naira has declined steadily in the past 10 years, stressing that the weakness of naira had brought the airline to the current sordid situation.

“The mismanagement of our leaders has gotten us to where we are today. The political situation of any country directly affects its economy. If the political-economy is fair enough, I believe the lifespan of our airlines would be longer.

“We can do 24 hours operations if the lights and other facilities at the airports are in place. Also, don’t forget that passengers too have to be there for us to airlift. Besides, the security at the airports too is very important, he said.

He further disclosed that plans were underway by the airline to increase its fleet soon, but decried that the recent suspension of operations had hampered its plans.