Domestic airlines in Nigeria have threatened to suspend operations from Monday, April 20, 2026, following a sharp spike in the price of aviation fuel, raising concerns over a potential shutdown of the country’s air transport sector
The planned action was disclosed in a letter dated April 14, 2026, by the President of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Abdulmunaf Sarina.
According to the association, the price of Jet A1 has risen from N900 per litre as of February 28 to over N3,300 per litre within less than two months—an increase of more than 300 per cent.
In the letter addressed to the Executive Secretary of the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), Mr. Clement Isong, and copied to top government officials including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the airlines warned that the situation has become unsustainable.
However, in a swift reaction, the MEMAN Executive Secretary told Daily Trust that he is unaware of the prices being quoted by the airlines even as he dismissed the allegation of extortion leveled against marketers, clarifying that the price hike, which is not as bad as the figure being quoted by the airlines, was driven by the geopolitical tensions in the Middle East which has caused disruption in the global oil market.
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