It has been an uneasy task for airline operators at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, in terms of daily flight, since the persistence of scarcity of aviation fuel, as they now embark on daily rationing of flights to meet up.
The Tide observed that almost all the airlines, apart from the Dana Airline, whose operations have been suspended by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) recently, have cut down on their daily flights.
The Ibom Air that used to operate double flights daily for both Abuja and Lagos, now operates single flight from Lagos to Port Harcourt, while Airpeace dropped from two to one daily for both Abuja and Lagos to Port Harcourt.
The Max Air and the Arik Airline operations appear to be a bit stable on the Port Harcourt/Lagos route, whereas the Abuja side flights movement had dropped.
Apart from the rationing of flights, these airlines also record unprecedented  delay in operations, as flights now hardly arrive or depart on the appropriate time of schedule, a situation which had kept passengers worried and murmuring.
Reacting to this development in an interaction with The Tide, one of the officers of the Max Airline (name withheld) said the problem of getting the avaition fuel, otherwise known as the ‘Jet A1’, has become a nightmare to airlines.
“It is really difficult to get aviation fuel. Apart from the fact that the price per litter has gone so high to as much as N830, it is scarce in Abuja. That is why they go on to queue in Lagos, where it is more available.
“The previous day, our flight arrived early, because we got fuel quickly. But today it was late because of the same issue of getting Jet A1, and it has affected the luggage we carry, since the flight will take sufficient fuel to enable it go round.
“It’s not been business as usual, the scarcity is affecting flight movement, and at the same time causing delay and rationing of flights”, he said.

By: Corlins Walter