Allen Onyema, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Air Peace, has lamented the increment in the cost of aviation fuel that was occasioned by the lingering scarcity in the country.
Onyema, in an interview where he expressed his displeasure with the alarming hike, stated that within a period of a year, aviation fuel has gone up from N190 per litre to N670 per litre, which he said is affecting airlines’ businesses.
“The sudden hike from N190 to N670 per litre within a year is killing our businesses. I am not saying it is not profitable but sustainable because of other expenses we incurred in the course of running our businesses.
“The unit cost of each seat is over N120,000 but we only charge N50,000 for each of the seats and that means we are running at a loss already,” he stated.
Speaking further, the Air Peace CEO heaped praises on President Muhammadu Buhari, saying his intervention has led to a significant drop in the prices of the commodity.
His words, “The Federal Government, led by President Muhammadu Buhari, has assured us that it will look into reducing the cost of aviation fuel in the country. If he had not intervened, we would have shut down operations in 72 hours because it is obvious that the recent hike is counter-productive.
“Already, the cost has gone down from about N600 per litre to a little above N400 per litre. The truth is that we have told the government that anything above N300 per litre is not sustainable for our businesses.
“During a meeting with the NNPC and the lawmakers, we told the leadership of NNPC to reduce the cost of the fuel to N150 per litre but he said that is not practicable but promised to reduce the cost further go ease our burden.”
