The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has announced that President Bola Tinubu has approved a 30 percent reduction on debts owed by domestic airlines to aviation agencies.
The decision means local carriers will now pay significantly less of their outstanding obligations to the federal government.
Keyamo disclosed the development on Thursday after receiving a communication from the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila.
“This evening, Mr. president has definitely approved a 30 percent discount,” the minister told journalists.
The move comes shortly after Keyamo revealed that the government was considering measures to ease financial pressure on airlines due to the sharp rise in aviation fuel costs.
Although the total debt owed by the airlines was not specified, the minister explained that it includes parking charges payable to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), navigational fees owed to the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), and other related levies.
The development follows recent threats by the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) to suspend operations over the escalating cost of Jet A1 fuel. The operators had warned that fuel prices surged from N900 per litre in February to about N3,300 per litre, marking an increase of over 300 percent.
However, the association later suspended its planned shutdown after appeals from the government.
Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, had earlier raised concerns over the situation, describing it as a major crisis for the aviation sector.
“The truth is that the marketers must be brought to book to explain how they got about the 300 percent increase,” he said.
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“Even Dangote is surprised, because what he is selling to us still remains the cheapest, and some of them lift from there. So why the astronomical rise?”
Onyema also noted that airlines are facing serious financial strain, with many relying on loans to keep operations running while trying to maintain safety and maintenance standards.
He further urged the government to consider broader relief measures, including a total waiver of airline debts and a temporary suspension of repayments until global fuel supply pressures ease.