Less flights and increased delays as the aviation industry feels the bite of fuel shortage in Nigeria
Domestic flights in Nigeria experience increased cancellations and delays due to fuel shortage being experienced in the West African nation.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority spokesman, Sam Adurogboye, all domestic airlines have been affected.
“There are cancellations. The airlines are not able to operate to full capacity on account of fuel issues,” said Sam in a telephone interview with Reuters, noting that some airlines had halved the number of scheduled flights.
“We apologise for the recent delays experienced as a result of shortage of Jet A1 [aviation fuel],” one airline, Dana Air, said in a statement on its website on Tuesday.
Declining world oil prices has caused the biggest oil producer in Africa to experience its worst economic crisis in decades. Lack of the supply of dollars in Nigeria has caused fuel shortages because the country is unable to pay for refined oil products and other essential imports.
Approximately 75 ships carrying two and half million tonnes of fuel are stranded at sea as importers find dollars they need to pay for the cargoes according to ship tracking data and fuel traders.
Nigerian government scrapped off costly fuel subsidy scheme which led to an increase in petrol prices by 67 percent to assist in tackling the crisis. However, trade unions have called on a strike to protest the move starting today.
