Following the plan which was announced on Friday to shut down local flight operations from today, Monday, 9 May, airline operators in Nigeria have suspended the proposed move.
The decision comes after one of the 9 airlines that teamed to make the strike announcement on Friday said it was pulling out of the action yesterday claiming the planned strike would affect revenues needed to service obligations to financiers and suppliers.
The suspension by the other airlines, Air Peace, Max Air, Arik Air, and others was confirmed by the Airlines Operators of Nigeria (AON) in a statement jointly signed by its President, Abdulmunaf Yunusa Sarina, and other members on Sunday.
“The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) wishes to inform the general public that further to numerous calls from the highest echelons in government with promises to urgently intervene in the crises being faced by airlines due to the astronomic and continuously rising cost of JetA1, that the AON has acceded to requests to withdraw the action for the time being while we allow for a fresh round of dialogue with the government in the hope of reaching an amicable solution.” The statement said.
“In view of the above and in the interest of national economy and security considerations, AON hereby wishes to notify the general public that the earlier announced shutdown of operations on May 9, 2022, is hereby suspended in good faith pending the outcome of hopefully fruitful engagement with government.” The statement concluded.
Although Nigeria is one of the largest oil producers in the world, it does not refine its crude locally. Thus, the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has affected the availability of refined crude for oil demand in the country. In the last two months, there has been scarcity and a hike in the price of other crude products like diesel, and petrol in Nigeria, and one of the many effects of the hike is experienced in the Aviation industry.