Air Peace Airline, Max Air, Arik, United Nigeria Airlines, Aero, Azman and Dana Air have said they remain resolute on decision to suspend flight operations on Monday.

In a joint statement signed by these airlines, under the auspices of Airline Operators of Nigeria, (AON), the operators said in the light of frantic developments within the last 24 hours since informing the general public of its decision to suspend operations in response to the astronomic and continuously rising cost of JetA1, the AON stands firmly by it’s decision.

“Airline operators are patriotic citizens and we are doing all we can to protect the flying public contrary to what some subjective schools of thought might suggest. This is a collective sacrifice for the common interest of our nation.

“AON however regrets the unfortunate position taken by one of our members, Ibom Air, not to stand by the collective decision. While they may have their reasons for doing what they did, it is pertinent to note that they equally accepted in their statement that the JetA1 situation poses an “existential threat to the air transport industry in Nigeria” and that “the out-of-control situation is simply unsustainable,” the flight suspension statement read.

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The operators however stated that the airlines are not on strike, adding that they are private investors who do not run airlines with public funds to be able to continue to pay upfront in cash at N700 per litre for JetA1 which has increased its cost on daily basis to about 95 percent.

They stressed that this is totally unsustainable and its consequences, if allowed to stay, will be borne by the passengers; which is what they are trying to prevent.

“To this end therefore, we remain resolute in our resolve to find a lasting solution to this crucial problem of national emergency and once again use this medium to appeal to the conscience of our esteemed passengers for their understanding,” the AON stated.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.

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