Nigerian airline, Aero Contractors has announced it will suspend all scheduled airline operations effective Wednesday, July 20, 2022.
The announcement comes in the midst of an industry crisis brought about by high fuel prices and further compounded by fuel scarcity and forex challenges.
The airline confirmed it is simply not in a position to provide reliable passenger services to its passengers at the moment due to the fact that most of its aircraft are undergoing maintenance.
Nigeria’s industry woes
Two months ago, Nigeria’s major airline operators under the umbrella of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) threatened to halt operations in protest over the skyrocketing price of Jet fuel which the airlines believed was simply unsustainable. To the relief of passengers, the operators made a U-turn after getting assurances from government.
However, industry issues sunk deeper the price of fuel, which itself was triggered by the war in Ukraine. Nigeria has been facing a scarcity of forex, an element that is key in the aviation industry where services are largely purchased by the dollar. This put a further strain on both access to fuel and maintenance services.
“The past few months have been very challenging for the Aviation industry and the airline operators in particular. With the high cost of maintenance, skyrocketing fuel prices, inflation, and forex scarcity resulting in high foreign exchange rates. These are amongst the major components of airline operations,” a statement from Aero Contractors reads
What next for Nigeria’s oldest airline
The airline says this suspension will not last long and that it will be back to offering services to passengers in good time.
“We are working to bring these aircrafts back to service in the next few weeks, so we can continue to offer our passengers the safe, efficient, and reliable services that Aero Contractors is known for, which is the hallmark of Aero Contractors Company of Nig. Ltd.” the airline says in its statement.
Aerocontractors is a multi-faceted business with other arms providing training, maintenance and charter services. The operator says these will not be affected as the suspension is limited to scheduled passenger operations.
“this does not in any way affect the Maintenance activities of the Approved Maintenance Organisation (AMO) otherwise known as AeroMRO, the Approved Training Organisation (ATO) also known as Aero Training School, the Helicopter and Charter Services operations.” – Aerocontractors
