Arik Air, West and Central Africa’s largest airline has alerted air travelers of severe aviation fuel (JET A1) scarcity.
The airline said the scarcity became evident few days ago when oil marketers started rationing JET A1 supply to airlines citing limited stock at the depots.
Ola Adebanji, the airline spokesman said the situation is critical in Lagos and Abuja, the operational hubs of Arik Air, adding that the airline has warned that if the situation is not addressed as a priority by the marketers, more flights could be delayed or cancelled.
Arik Air, the largest consumer of aviation fuel in Nigeria operates more than 120 daily flights and its daily fuel requirement is about 500,000 liters. This means that Arik Air will be most affected by the scarcity and delay in marketers to source and deliver fuel to the airlines.
The airline has therefore appealed for the understanding of passengers as it grapples with the JET A1 scarcity.
“Where flights are likely to be delayed, the airline will notify passengers through SMS. In case of flight being cancelled due to limited supply of fuel by marketers, passengers will be accommodated on first available alternative flight at no cost”, he said.
Arik Air s Nigeria and West Africa’s largest airline and operates mainly from two hubs at Murtala Mohammed Airport Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja.
It operates a fleet of 28 state-of-the art regional, medium haul and long haul aircraft including two Airbus A340-500 making the airline the first operator of the wide bodied aircraft in Africa.
The airline currently serves 18 destinations across Nigeria as well as Accra (Ghana), Banjul (Gambia), Dakar (Senegal), Freetown (Sierra Leone), Monrovia (Liberia), Cotonou (Benin Republic), Abidjan (Cote d’Ivoire), Douala (Cameroon), Luanda (Angola), Libreville (Gabon), London Heathrow (UK), Johannesburg (South Africa) and New York JFK (USA). The airline operates a combined number of about 120 daily flights from its hubs in Lagos and Abuja, and has been Africa’s fastest growing airline for the last five years.
