KEY POINTS

• Nigerian airlines may ground all flights from Thursday, April 30, 2026 over surging Jet A1 fuel prices.
• Jet A1 prices have spiked to between 2,700 and 3,500 naira per liter, up from about 900 naira before the US-Iran war.
• Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo announced a 30 percent reduction in aviation taxes, but operators say it falls short.

Allen Onyema, founder of Air Peace and vice president of the Airline Operators of Nigeria, has set the country up for a Thursday aviation shutdown. He warned that domestic airlines may ground all flights from April 30 unless the government and oil marketers tame a Jet A1 fuel crisis that has ballooned costs by more than 300 percent.

The looming shutdown threatens to leave thousands of business travelers stranded across the country. Operators say the price of Jet A1 has surged from about 900 naira per liter before the US-Iran war to between 2,700 and 2,900 naira, with some marketers pushing it as high as 3,500 naira.

Talks deadlocked

Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo convened a two-day meeting in Abuja last week with airline operators and fuel marketers, but the tripartite talks ended in a deadlock. Keyamo announced a 30 percent reduction in aviation-related taxes. While the gesture landed, operators insist it falls short of addressing the root problem: the surging cost of fuel.

Onyema welcomed the government’s intervention but pointed the finger squarely at fuel marketers. Notably, he said the marketers must explain how prices tripled while Aliko Dangote’s refinery, which sells the cheapest product, remains baffled by the spike.

“This government has helped the industry more than anyone since 1999, and the President is even willing to waive 30 percent of the debts airlines are owing. But the truth is that the marketers must be brought to book to explain how they came about the 300 percent increase,” Onyema said.

On the second day, Onyema issued a seven-day ultimatum from midnight last Thursday. “We expect that in the next 48 hours something drastic should be done because no airline will fly in this country in the next seven days if nothing is done, not because they don’t want to fly, but because fuel may not be available to us at sustainable pricing,” Onyema said.

Furthermore, Onyema said the airlines are now flying just to pay fuel marketers, with no room to compromise on safety as the squeeze tightens.

A formal demand list before airline shutdown 

Meanwhile, the Airline Operators of Nigeria has formally pushed the government for fresh relief. In a letter dated April 21 and signed by AON President Abdulmunaf Sarina, the group called for the immediate suspension of aviation taxes, fees and charges for at least six months.

Additionally, AON wants the government to introduce a non-taxable fuel surcharge, a standard practice in international aviation. The group also asked the government to direct oil marketers to issue credit notes to airlines facing arbitrary price hikes, and proposed an industry tax reform committee to align charges with global standards.

Despite speculation about indebtedness, senior airline officials said operators are current on payments to key aviation agencies, including FAAN and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency. The fuel price spike, not unpaid bills, is the trigger.

With the deadline approaching, uncertainty hangs over Nigeria’s aviation sector. Another airline executive, speaking anonymously because he could not comment publicly, summed up the mood. He said no airline will be flying by Thursday if nothing changes.