MURTALA MUHAMMED INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT LAGOS: AIRLINES CANCEL FLIGHTS OVER AVIATION FUEL SCARCITY

Many domestic flights to different destinations across the country were cancelled during the weekend as a result of the scarcity of aviation fuel, according to information obtained by our correspondent on Monday. Hundreds of passengers were stranded at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on Saturday and Sunday as the scarcity of aviation fuel led to the grounding of most flights. While Arik Air had last week explained that it had to scale

down its flights, Aero Contractors on Monday declared that it cancelled four flights as a result of the scarcity of aviation fuel, popularly known as Jet-A1. The domestic carrier said in a statement, “On Saturday, due to lack of aviation fuel in the country, Aero Contractors had to cancel some flights, namely, NG 129, 131 and 135, out of Lagos, and NG 134, out of Abuja. All attempts by our management and staff to secure fuel from our suppliers failed, hence the inevitable and unfortunate option to cancel the four flights.

“Over the last few weeks, the supply of aviation fuel has been very erratic, leading to flight delays and sometimes cancellations. It is common knowledge that last week was also hectic for most commuters in the nation as a result of zero supply of petrol.” The airline regretted the “unfortunate situation and inconveniences suffered” by its customers and urged those involved to contact it for refund or rebooking of flights at no extra charge. Last week, Arik Air announced that it had to reduce its flights to 20 per cent capacity out of the over 100 daily flights. The airline’s managing director, Mr. Chris Ndulue, said it had put contingency plans in place to ensure it did not shut down operations because of the scarcity of aviation fuel. He said the airline flew to neighbouring countries in West and Central Africa to source for aviation fuel at a ridiculously high rate in order to sustain its operations. Ndulue said Arik Air was now flying to Ghana, Cameroon and Benin Republic to source for aviation fuel. He added that if the situation did not improve, the airline might be unable to operate flights, as the alternate arrangement was costing it too much money with the attendant inconveniences to passengers.

Ndulue said since last Thursday, when the scarcity of aviation fuel escalated, Arik Air had over stretched its bounds to secure the over 800,000 litres needed for its daily operations.