The National Association of Aircrafts Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) has urged the Federal government to intervene in the escalating issue of scarcity of Aviation fuel before it cripples the industry in Nigeria.
Observed that scarcity of the products is capable of crippling domestic operators and by extension, the Nigerian aviation industry, NAAPE in a statement signed by its national President Abdedenego Galadima, affirmed that the scarcity of the product has caused many flight disruptions and made air travels an herculean task across the country.
“We are very worried about this issue as it has made traveling very difficult for passengers and caused much disruption in the operations of domestic airlines,” it said.
Adding that the industry is yet to recover from negative impact of COVID -19 pandemic, NAAPE expressed the concern that should the crisis allowed to linger on, it would have negative impact on airlines and ripple effects on the entire industry leading to losses of jobs.
“The industry is still recovering from the negative impact of the pandemic and many airlines haven’t completely recovered. If this issue of scarcity is not immediately addressed by the Federal Government, not only would the airlines be negatively impacted, the ripple effect will be felt in the aviation downstream sector which may lead to job losses,” the body feared
Notwithstanding the proposed intervention from the national Assembly, NAAPE insisted, “the executive arm of the government should as a matter of urgency, address the issues causing the scarcity and price hike so that normalcy can return to the industry.”
