Bleak Xmas for local airlines as aviation fuel import dips

Hopes of a quick resolution of the lingering aviation fuel (Jet A1) crisis have been dashed as only 15,000 metric tonnes of the product were listed for importation in the coming weeks, according to Shipping Position, a bulletin of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) on vessel traffic.

The quantity is a far cry from what is needed to bridge the supply gap and cushion the suffering of local carriers who have been forced to scale down their operations in recent times.

Of the 30 vessels expected at the Lagos Pilotage District for November 2016, nine are laden with a combined tonnage of 259,609.620 metric tonnes of petrol (Premium Motor Spirit) and out of four motor vessels awaiting berth at anchorage, two are carrying PMS of a combined tonnage of 22,500, while one is laden with 15,000 MT of Jet A1.

The development paints a gloomy picture for domestic operators ahead of the Yuletide when passenger volume is expected to swell by up to 40 per cent.
It was learnt that the product has been arriving in ‘trickles’ in the last few months, a situation that underscores the severity of the current scarcity.

The Sun, November 22

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