Airline operators have threatened to shut down in the next 72 hours except the Federal Government resolves the high cost of aviation fuel.
Vice President of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Chief Allen Onyeama, stated this at the resumed meeting between the operators, oil marketers, the regulators and leadership of the House of Representatives.
He said airline operators cannot continue to sustain the current price of the product.
Onyeama, who said the operators were not threatening the country, said: “If they (cost of aviation fuel) don’t come down from their high horse, I am sorry to say that we have only three days of operation left.
“We know the importance of aviation to the economy. Currently, the average price per seat is N70, 000. We have not included the cost of insurance to that.
“All the Insurance companies in this country cannot insure one one aircraft. So, we have to go outside the country to get insurance for our aircraft.
“We cannot continue to subsidise the industry. If we must continue to operate at this rate, then the average cost per ticket will be around N150, 000 and that will not be good for the economy.”