AT the close of the second day of the on-going strike called by Labour to protest Federal Government policies yesterday, international airlines, which operate flights in Nigeria, began counting their losses.
With the strike, the airlines, particularly European carriers, now incur extra cost in sourcing aviation fuel (JET A1), which has become scarce and rather expensive in the country.
To scale the logjam, the airlines now source the commodity from neighbouring countries such as Niger, Ghana, Republic of Benin and Cameroun.
It would be recalled that most international airlines into Lagos and other parts of the country have had their schedules suddenly changed, or flights cancelled outright.
A Virgin Atlantic Airways flight that was scheduled to have arrived in the country on Wednesday morning had its flight rescheduled, owing to the fact that the airline was not sure of getting aviation fuel in the country.
Passengers earlier booked on the flight were later taken to a hotel as recommended by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
Sources say KLM, British Airways, Qatar, Lufthansa, Air France and others, have been sourcing the commodity from Niger, Republic of Benin, Ghana and Cameroun, depending on the proximity to the airport where they land in Nigeria.
A top official of KLM, who pleaded anonymity, told The Guardian yesterday that his airline actually got JET A1 in Niger, while British Airways was said to have bought its from Accra, Ghana.
The source lamented that besides burning fuel to get to Accra to source the commodity, a quarter of the fuel is “wasted to fly to and from Accra.”
Aviation fuel is very costly. All over the world, airlines are cutting down on fuel usage, which the source said accounts for one-third of their expenses.
He added that apart from the huge cost expended on fuel, their planes get charged for the time it remains on the tamac of an airport.
The airlines, he noted, are also charged for landing and parking by the Nigerian aviation authorities.
He, however, could not put a figure to the losses his airline has incurred, noting “we are still computing our losses, since the strike is still on.
“Aircraft are not meant to be on ground. The more hour we spend on ground, the more charges we incur from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and other aviation agencies,” the source said.
The landing and parking fees charged foreign carriers by Nigerian aviation agencies are reported to be the highest in the world, a situation that makes some airlines to quickly depart Nigerian airports, almost immediately after landing.
The strict slot allocation for airlines in Europe has equally been disrupted by the scarcity of aviation fuel due to the on-going strike.
With the failure of governments around the world to invest adequately and on a timely basis in their airports and with the increasing impact of environmental concerns on airports and related development, airlines – and thus their users – are increasingly facing difficulties because of a shortage of adequate slots to cope with demand.
This has led to airlines’ needs being unsatisfied and has put increasing pressure on slots at congested airports and on the slot allocation system.
The system has been proven to be vulnerable, especially at a time like this, when the strike which makes airlines flying into Nigeria shift their time of departure.