Keyamo Meets AON Wednesday Over Local Airlines Threat To Shutdown Operations 

Following the threat by domestic airlines to shutdown operations following 300 per cent rise in price of Aviation fuel often referred to as Jet- A1, LEADERSHIP has learnt that the minister of aviation and aerospace development has convened an emergency meeting for Wednesday, April 22, 2026.

The meeting convened by the minister will be between aviation stakeholders, the Airlines Operators of Nigeria (AON) and relevant government agencies with the agenda focused on interventions that would ease the tension caused by the hike in aviation fuel.

Sources close to the minister told our correspondent that Keyamo, who was on official assignment abroad, is already discussing with AON and other stakeholders to find immediate solutions to the challenges facing the local airlines.

According to the source, “The honourable minister is already on top of the situation, he’s calling for a meeting with the AON and other stakeholders next Wednesday.”

The AON had issued a warning of a possible nationwide shutdown of flight operations beginning Monday, April 20, 2026.

The operators said the cost of Jet A1 has surged from about N900 per litre as of February 28 to N3,300 per litre within a space of less than two months, a development they described as unsustainable and threatening the survival of the aviation industry.

The planned withdrawal of services was conveyed in a letter dated April 14, 2026, signed by AON president, Abdulmunaf Sarina, and addressed to the executive secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), Clement Isong.

Copies of the letter were also sent to President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Chris Najomo, and the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS).

In the correspondence, the AON lamented that aviation fuel, which accounts for over 40 per cent of airlines’ operational costs, has drastically eroded revenues and placed carriers under severe financial strain.