Major airlines to cancel all flights across country – update issued to passengers | World | News
A major airline company has temporarily suspended its flights across the country due to the rising cost of the fuel prices, but still plans to do so amid a dispute. Nigerian airlines have planned a nationwide shutdown of its services after a government appeal to halt the action pending talks, the airlines said over the weekend.
The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) – an industry body with mainly domestic carriers – had recently issued warning that they will stop the services from April 20 (Monday), adding that the soaring jet fuel prices have made the operations unsustainable. The AON further said that the step was taken after an appeal from Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, who called for restraint and dialogue.
Fuel prices have skyrocketed since the war in the Middle East broke out on February 28. The rise in costs has significantly affected the aviation industry; prices have gone from approximately $85 to $90 per barrel to as high as $150 to $200 per barrel in recent weeks.
The AON said in a statement: “Rising from an emergency meeting held this evening, the Airline Operators of Nigeria has reached a concessionary but conditional decision to temporarily suspend its earlier planned shutdown action.”
The suspension was put in place on the condition that a meeting involving all relevant parties would take place on April 22, as arranged by the minister, according to AON.
As part of their terms, the airlines asked government agencies and service providers to continue operating normally and to stop insisting on upfront payments, which they said were worsening their financial difficulties.
Nigerian airlines say the sharp rise in jet fuel prices has been made even worse by limited supply and difficulties accessing foreign currency.
These two factors have pushed their operating costs much higher. Since fuel normally makes up more than a third of an airline’s expenses in Nigeria, the impact has been especially severe.
Several other airline services have been impacted due to the soaring fuel prices across the world. QantasLink has indefinitely suspended its Adelaide–Mount Gambier route from 18 May 2026, citing both low demand and the impact of sharply rising jet fuel prices.
KLM has cancelled more than 160 European flights in the coming weeks because they were “no longer financially viable” due to record-high kerosene prices.
