Aviation Experts Reject FG’s ₦60bn Airline Relief
Aviation professionals under the Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ASRTI) have criticised the Federal Government’s reported ₦60bn invoice discounts to airlines, describing the intervention as ineffective in tackling Nigeria’s worsening aviation crisis.
ASRTI President Air Commodore (retd.) Ademola Onitiju said the concession failed to reduce the price of Jet A1 fuel, airline debts, or passenger fares, leaving both carriers and travellers burdened by rising costs.
“The Nigerian domestic aviation sector currently faces a profound and protracted crisis driven primarily by the escalating cost of Jet A1 fuel.
“This single factor has pushed fuel to nearly half of total airline operating expenses and has forced domestic carriers to raise fares to levels that many Nigerians can no longer afford,” he noted.
Jet A1 currently sells for ₦1,650–₦2,037 per litre, accounting for almost half of airlines’ operating expenses.
Despite the government’s debt reduction, ticket prices remain high, and the wider aviation ecosystem—including cargo, tourism, and hospitality—has seen no measurable benefit.
Onitiju argued that the ₦60bn relief was a “hollow largesse” and proposed a Fuel-for-Stability Programme, which would allocate crude oil directly to local refiners to stabilise fuel supply and lower costs for domestic airlines.
“Whether the final feasible fuel price is ₦300 or slightly above is not the issue. The grand strategy is to emplace a stable, predictable supply of crude to local refiners in order to dramatically lower operating costs, enable lower fares, higher passenger traffic, more profitable airlines, stronger aviation agencies and a healthier fiscally backed ecosystem,” he explained.
ASRTI stressed that affordable air transport would unlock broader economic opportunities, expand access to aviation services, and make flying a mass-market activity in Nigeria.
Onitiju cited India, Turkey, Indonesia, and Brazil as examples of countries that transformed their aviation sectors by prioritising affordability and structural reforms.
While acknowledging government efforts to restore confidence among global aircraft lessors and support local maintenance, ASRTI insisted that deliberate, market-shaping reforms were needed to make Nigeria’s aviation sector globally competitive and sustainable.