Local airlines under the aegis of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) have suspended their threat to shut down flight operations over the outrageous hike in the price of Jet-A1 fuel.

AON Vice President Allen Onyema announced this on Friday.

On March 15, AON had threatened to shut down their operations on March 18 if the government could not find a lasting solution for the marketers to reduce the Jet-A1 price.

Mr Onyema, Air Peace chairman, explained that airlines collectively agreed to suspend the shutdown to avert further disruption in economic activities, considering the key role air transportation plays in the logistic mix.

“We are not going to shut down flight operations because discussions are ongoing between us and the relevant players in the oil and gas value chain to find a lasting solution to the problem. We are negatively affected by the increasing price of aviation fuel, but as patriotic investors, we will not take any action that will paralyse the economy,” stressed Mr Onyema.

He added, “As patriotic Nigerians and investors, we will continue to engage the government and its agencies on the way out of this problem.”

Mr Onyema noted that the decision taken by the local carriers was a patriotic contribution to President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime.

“Since the Buhari administration came on board, it has shown sufficient commitment to improving the aviation industry. The president signed an Executive Order that granted waivers on aircraft and its spares and other interventions, the least we could do is to continue to engage until challenges in the sector are resolved,” added Mr Onyema.

The Air Peace boss said airline operators were presently considering scaling down on the number of flight frequencies to minimise the cost of operations.

Mr Onyema added that local carriers were not considering any further increase in airfares not to shut out ordinary Nigerians who desire to travel by air.

(NAN)