Chaos At Airports As Fuel Scarcity Paralyses Flights

Thousands of exasperated passengers waited for hours yesterday at the country’s airports to board planes as aviation fuel scarcity paralysed air travels nationwide.

The fuel shortage led to commotion at virtually all the airports in the country as stranded passengers clashed with airline officials, sources told P.M.NEWS yesterday.

Virtually all aircraft from all the airlines were grounded and those that finally took off, ended up delaying passengers for more than six hours.

The General Aviation Terminal in Lagos, southwest Nigeria, where Arik Air, Nigeria’s biggest airline operates, was said to have been the worst hit, with hundreds of passengers whiling away the time or sleeping on the floor of the tiny terminal building.

Many of the stranded passengers were seen carrying their luggage and heading home while others tried alternative means of transportation.

What caused the scarcity of aviation fuel, known as Jet A1, was unknown but previous crises were traced to a dispute between airline operators and fuel marketers.

Marketers had complained that airlines buy their products on credit and sometimes fail to redeem their debts. Airlines say aviation fuel is very expensive in Nigeria, more expensive than Ghana and other West African countries.

It was learnt that some foreign airlines are making moves to head to Accra, Ghana, to get aviation fuel where Jet A1 is said to be cheaper.

The Assistant Secretary General of Airlines Operators of Nigeria, AON, Mohammed Tukur, was quoted by a newspaper as saying, “this is the time airline operators should be wary of what is sold to them as aviation fuel.”

According to him, this is the period kerosene could be sold to unsuspecting carriers in the name of aviation fuel.

Meanwhile, passengers continue to experience hardship at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, as the crisis between Maevis Nigeria Limited and the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria deepens.

FAAN’s Managing Director, George Uriesi, disregarded a court order and forcefully ejected Maevis some days ago. Since then, manual check-in has caused long delays at the country’s international airports, with air travellers facing hardship since last week.

—Simon Ateba