The Federal Government has asked aviation fuel marketers to grant airline operators a 30-day credit window and sell Jet A1 directly to them, as part of emergency measures to tackle Nigeria’s worsening jet fuel crisis .
The intervention followed high-level stakeholder meetings convened by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) on April 22-23, 2026, bringing together the Ministries of Aviation and Petroleum, aviation agencies, airline operators, and fuel marketers .
Stakeholders agreed on a new indicative pricing band for aviation fuel. The end-user price should range between N1,760 and N1,988 per litre in Lagos, and N1,809 to N2,037 per litre in Abuja . The benchmarks were derived from Platts average prices recorded between April 17-23, 2026 .
Industry leaders warn that prices could rise further outside this window due to volatility driven by the U.S.-Iran conflict .
The government directed fuel marketers to sell directly to airline operators, bypassing intermediaries . The NMDPRA was also tasked with working alongside the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to validate and streamline the number of airside fuel distributors, limiting operations to only those with verifiable infrastructure .
As part of relief measures, the Ministry of Aviation was tasked with facilitating consultative meetings between oil marketers and airline operators to resolve outstanding fuel debts . Marketers were encouraged to adopt a 30-day credit system, allowing airlines to pay for supplies after delivery . The committee also recommended the inclusion of Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK) under the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude initiative to reduce foreign exchange pressure on the sector .
The crisis has reached a breaking point for domestic carriers, with Ibom Air disclosing that the cost of fueling a single flight has surged from N2.1 million in January to approximately N7.6 million in April . A looming standoff over over N9 billion owed by airlines to ground handling companies has further fueled fears of widespread flight disruptions .
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