Airline operators have expressed concern over the high cost of operating in the country, citing among others the burden of aviation fuel that has left them disadvantaged among international carriers, The Guardian reports.
Aviation fuel currently accounts for between 35 to 40% of the total operational cost of an average airline in the country. And with equally high cost of routine maintenance, personnel, overhead, mandatory charges and taxes among others, the airlines are left with very lean bottom lines and in some cases, indebted to regulators and ancillary service providers. Chief Executive Officer of Med-View Airlines PLC, Muneer Bankole, recently lamented the heavy effect of aviation fuel on the total operating cost and profit margin of the airline in 2017.
Marketers of the product have, however, blamed zero refining capacity, coupled with alleged multiple taxes and charges for the high cost of supply. It was learnt that besides the N2.50 the Federal Government charges on each litre of fuel, there are other sundry charges at various Nigerian airports for fueling operations which make the cost higher compared to other African countries. Chief Operating Officer of CITA Petroleum Nigeria Limited, Olasimbo Betiku, also added that the jet fuel problem in Nigeria is mainly that of supply.
