High jet fuel prices are impacting airlines across the globe. If oil prices stay where they are, no airlines will be making any money, and quite a few airlines might be looking at going out of business.
We’ve seen some airlines reduce capacity in light of the current situation, since it’s hard to fly profitably. However, we haven’t seen any airlines go quite as far as what we’re seeing in Nigeria, where the country is potentially days from having zero domestic flights… if airlines are to be believed.
Nigerian airlines may shut down on April 20, 2026
The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), an industry body made up of around a dozen Nigerian airlines, has warned that airlines will be suspending all domestic flight operations from April 20, 2026, unless jet fuel prices go down.
The organization claims that jet fuel prices have increased by around 270% since late February 2026. The price of a liter of jet fuel has reportedly increased from around ₦900 ($0.67) to around ₦3,300 ($2.46). Nigeria’s aviation sector consumees around 2.1 million liters of jet fuel per day. Just to do some basic math, there are around four liters per gallon, so airlines in Nigeria are paying close to $10 per gallon of jet fuel. Yowzers.
The claim is that the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN) has been artificially inflating the cost of jet fuel, at a time when some relief should be provided. The lobbying group argues that “airline revenues are insufficient to cover the cost of fuel alone.”
MEMAN disputes AON’s claims, arguing that the quoted prices are 40% above a survey-based market average, and also defended itself by arguing that jet fuel distribution requires specialized equipment and handling that makes it more cost intensive.
Airlines in Nigeria have raised fares to try to recoup some of the added expenses, though that then impacts demand. If you raise fares significantly but demand also decreases, that’s not a great situation either.
Are Nigerian airlines bluffing or serious about grounding?
Of course the current jet fuel situation is a total mess for airlines, as they’re in an unenviable spot. It’s natural that airlines would try to reduce capacity as much as possible, but the economics there are also complicated. Airlines have some high fixed costs as well, so it’s not like shutting down operations means that all of the costs go away.
I have a very hard time imagining that all airlines in Nigeria will just suspend flights overnight, as I think that’s highly unlikely. Instead, I suspect this is them just trying to collectively apply some pressure to get regulators to take some action to reduce the cost of jet fuel.
We’ll see if anything comes of this, but having a country suspend all domestic flights would be quite something. Who knows, maybe they will suspend flights for a couple of days, as that’s certainly a way to get regulators to pay attention.
Bottom line
Airlines in Nigeria are threatening to shut down all domestic flight operations as of April 20, 2026. An organization representing airlines in the country claims that Nigerian carriers are paying close to $10 per gallon of fuel, and that simply isn’t sustainable.
While I of course understand and agree that this is a problem, I’m not sure shutting down all flights is the solution either. It seems to me that airlines are trying to apply pressure to the government to give some relif with jet fuel prices.
What do you make of this threat from Nigerian airlines? Do you think they’re serious or bluffing?