President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a 30 percent discount on debts owed by domestic airlines to aviation agencies, in a move aimed at easing financial pressure on operators grappling with soaring aviation fuel costs.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, disclosed the development on Thursday night after receiving communication from the President through the Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila.
“This evening, Mr. President has definitely approved a 30 percent discount,” Keyamo told a select journalists.
The approval means that domestic airline operators will now pay 30 percent less of the total amount they owe the Federal Government through various aviation agencies.
The intervention comes barely 24 hours after the minister revealed that the government was considering measures to reduce debts owed by local carriers as part of efforts to cushion the impact of the sharp increase in aviation fuel prices.
Although the exact total debt owed by airline operators remains unclear, Keyamo explained that the liabilities cover multiple charges, including parking fees payable to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), navigational charges owed to the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), and other related obligations.
The development follows rising tensions in the aviation sector, after the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) on April 14 threatened to suspend operations beginning April 20 over the escalating cost of Jet A1 fuel.
According to the operators, the price of aviation fuel surged from N900 per litre as of February 28 to about N3,300 per litre, representing an increase of more than 300 percent.
However, the AON later announced a temporary suspension of the planned shutdown following appeals by the aviation minister.
Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, who had earlier decried the crisis in the sector driven largely by the spike in Jet A1 prices, called for the prosecution of fuel marketers.
“The truth is that the marketers must be brought to book to explain how they got about the 300 percent increase,” Onyema had said.
“Even Dangote is surprised, because what he is selling to us still remains the cheapest, and some of them lift from there. So why the astronomical rise?”
Onyema further highlighted the severe financial strain facing airline operators, noting that many have resorted to borrowing to sustain fuel purchases while struggling to maintain other critical operational requirements such as safety and maintenance.
He also urged President Tinubu to consider a total waiver of all outstanding debts owed by airlines and a suspension of further payments until conditions in the global oil market stabilise, particularly referencing disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz.
The Federal Government’s latest decision is expected to provide some relief to operators as stakeholders continue to seek broader solutions to stabilise Nigeria’s aviation sector.
