The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, according to reports, is preventing oil marketers from refuelling aircraft at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport in Abuja, where airlines continue to encounter delays due to a shortage of Jet A1 aviation fuel.
Obi Mbanuzuo, the Chief Commercial Officer of Green Africa, claims that FAAN is denying access to the marketers because they disobeyed its “impromptu” 100% increase in Apron pass fees.
He said, “FAAN is currently restricting access to all fuel marketers in Abuja. The reason is that they instituted a 100% increment in Apron pass charges and require them to pay ASAP. No fuel marketers are currently being allowed onto the apron so no fuel vendors.
“We now have two aircraft on the ground in Abuja stuck waiting for fuel.
“We could have tankered into Abuja but we were full so couldn’t.
“Ramp in Abuja is now congested with most airlines having at least two aircraft now on the ground. Lagos to Akure with a 100% load factor of 4 pm is now cancelled as we cannot meet up with sunset even if we depart with our normal schedule now.
“Akure to Lagos was 70% full. Passengers’ Easter plans were destroyed because of FAAN and fuel marketers’ disagreement.
Flights are landing but are running out of fuel, according to many airline operators, including Ibom Air, Green Africa, and others.
The assistant general secretary, Aviation Round Table, Olumide Ohunayo in his reaction to this latest development said, “I think they are using the fuel marketers as an example but the charges affect everyone including ground handlers etc. This increase is actually across the board but Abuja is taking action today.”
But a lot of interested parties have questioned whether or not the marketers were led along.
As of the time this report was submitted, all attempts to contact FAAN for a comment on the matter had failed.
