Stakeholders Warn of Systemic Collapse Over High Cost of Jet Fuel

The Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ART) has joined the urgent call for government intervention, addressing a letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, regarding the skyrocketing cost of Jet A1 fuel.

 This follows a dramatic surge in prices, which reportedly jumped from N900 per litre in late February to as high as N3,300 per litre by mid-April 2026—a 300% increase in just two months.

The group, in a letter signed by its President, Air Commodore(rtd) Ademola Onitiju and Secretary-General, Olumide Ohunayo, warned that Nigeria’s aviation sector stands at a critical inflexion point occasioned by the Jet A1 crisis, the liquidity strain on airlines, and the cascading financial pressures across airports, concessionaires, and ground handlers, which they said have converged into a systemic emergency.

 The evidence, according to the duo, is unambiguous: domestic Jet A1 prices have sharply diverged from international refinery‑gate benchmarks between January and April 2026, creating a distortion that threatens the survival of our airlines and, by extension, the entire aviation ecosystem.

 They said, “The sector faces a dangerous chain reaction triggered by debt concessions. Once the Federal Government opened the door to concessions for agencies, every stakeholder followed suit: airports warned of income losses, concessionaires sought relief, and ground handlers now threatened service suspension over ₦9bn owed.

 “These pressures are real, but they must be sequenced correctly. If airlines collapse, the entire system collapses with them. Without airlines, there will be no agency receivables, no ground‑handling revenue, no concession income, and no jobs for thousands of Nigerians who depend on this sector for their livelihoods.”

 To find an immediate solution to the crisis, they called on the government to contract six months of Jet A1 supply at negotiated parity prices, covering the hardship period of February to April 2026, and extend corrective supply for an additional four months while global markets stabilise.

 This mechanism, they reiterated, must be transparent, audited, and publicly reconciled to ensure that refinery‑gate prices align with depot and gantry prices.

 Beyond emergency measures, structural reforms, they hinted, are indispensable, stressing that a comprehensive overhaul of the aviation charging ecosystem is overdue.

 A top global advisory firm should be engaged to audit airport charges, passenger levies, navigation fees, parking and ground‑handling tariffs, and other provider charges.

This review noted that Nigeria must benchmark against international standards, eliminate duplications, and develop a phased roadmap to reduce the tax burden.

 To prevent future crises, a National Energy Price Protection Program (NEPPP) should be established, they advised.

 To them, this rules‑based framework should include a volatility buffer fund, mandatory price transparency across the supply chain, and a logistics‑cost rationalisation audit.

“The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission should be empowered to investigate refinery‑to‑gantry spreads, airport delivery margins, and any anti‑competitive practices that distort pricing.”

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Wole Shadare