Nigeria’s largest
airline, Arik Air, has reduced the number of domestic flights it offers due to
a scarcity of aviation fuel, its spokesman said on Thursday, the latest carrier
to
limit services due to a currency squeeze in the country.
A sharp fall in the
naira this year has made it difficult to get the U.S. dollars needed to buy jet
fuel, almost all of which is imported, creating periodic shortages throughout
the country.
Nigerian airlines
have struggled to remain profitable amid the currency crisis, as passengers pay
in naira but fuel suppliers are paid in dollars, and some international
carriers have cut or stopped flights to Nigeria because those services are not
profitable.
Arik Air spokesman
Ola Adebanji said major oil marketers began to ration jet fuel supply to
airlines last week, and as a result there had been a “reduction of flights”
with immediate effect. He did not say how many flights would be cut.
“This will last
until the supply situation improves,” he said.
Arik Air is west
Africa’s biggest carrier by passenger numbers, flying to London, New York and
Johannesburg, and also has a maintenance contract with Germany’s Lufthansa.
“We are managing the
situation to ensure our international flights are not affected,” Adebanji said.
Fuel shortages
earlier this year forced domestic airlines to ground some flights, while
foreign airlines flying to Nigeria started to refuel abroad because the hard
currency shortage meant fuel was only available at a very high price.
(Source: REUTERS)
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