Airlines plan Thursday shut down over fuel price hike

Domestic airline operators in Nigeria are set to halt halt operations from Thursday, April 30, 2026.

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This is due to what they describe as unbearable and unsustainable aviation fuel prices.

Their actions could lead to travel disruption across the country.

Industry insiders say the airlines, having engaged both the Federal Government and oil marketers without a breakthrough, may be left with no option but to ground flights by Thursday.

The looming shutdown comes after several complaints by operators, who have watched the price of Jet A1 surge by over 300 per cent compared to February levels, pushing operating costs to the brink.

Passengers, many of whom rely on domestic flights for business and urgent travel, now face uncertainty.

In a bid to avert the crisis, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, convened a meeting with airline operators and fuel marketers in Abuja last week. However, findings indicate that the tripartite talks ended in a deadlock, with operators unwilling to shift their stance unless decisive action is taken.

At the end of the two-day meeting, the minister announced a 30 per cent reduction in aviation-related taxes as part of efforts to ease the burden on airlines. While the gesture was acknowledged, operators insist it falls short of addressing the root problem.

Speaking on the first day of the meeting, Vice President of the Airline Operators of Nigeria, Allen Onyema, welcomed the government’s intervention but maintained that fuel marketers must account for the sharp rise in prices.

Onyema said, “This government has helped the industry more than anyone since 1999, and the President is even willing to waive 30 per cent of the debts airlines are owing.

“But the truth is that the marketers must be brought to book to explain how they came about the 300 per cent increase when even Dangote is surprised because what he is selling to us is still the cheapest.”

At the end of the second day, Onyema issued a stark warning, giving a seven-day ultimatum from midnight last Thursday for action to be taken. “Since the advent of the US-Iran war, there has been a spike in aviation fuel in Nigeria, which we, the Airline Operators of Nigeria, feel is not proportionate to the hike internationally.

“We expect that in the next 48 hours something drastic should be done because no airline will fly in this country in the next seven days if nothing is done, not because they don’t want to fly, but because fuel may not be available to us at sustainable pricing.”