100% Apron Access Increase: Airline Passengers Stranded Amidst FAAN-fuel Marketers Clash

Airline passengers were stranded yesterday at the Abuja airport over the cold war between the manager of the airport, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and fuel marketers over 100 per cent increase in apron pass charges.

As a result, the airport manager has refused fuel vendors access into the apron to fuel operators aircraft on arrival and departures.

This is just as FAAN says; the marketers’ apron passed had expired.

All aircraft that landed at the Abuja airport Thursday morning could not leave due to lack of access to refuelling for take- off leading to the congestion of the apron as more aircraft landed from different parts of the county.

This development led to the distortion in flight schedules of airlines as they failed to meet their on-time departures.

An anonymous stakeholder said, “Flights are landing and no fuel. I think they are using the fuel marketers as an example but the charges affect everyone including ground handlers etc. This increase is actually across the board but Abuja is taking action today”.

Speaking further, “Lagos to Akure with 100% load factor of 4pm is now cancelled as we cannot meet up with sunset even if we depart with our normal schedule mow. Akure to Lagos was 70 per cent full. Passengers Easter plans destroyed bcos of FAAN and Fuel marketers stand-off”.

“We now have 2 aircraft on ground Abuja stuck waiting for fuel. We could have tanked into Abuja but we were full so couldn’t”.

Giving further explanations to the development, Ag. General Manager, Public Affairs, Mrs. Faithful Hope-Ivbaze said, the a prom pass expired since May and they were given up till April first to pay up.

She said, the pass renewal is N200,000 and wondered why oil marketers would wait after much appeals and reminders to pay up.

The FAAN spokesperson also noted that, many customers are owing the agency and refused to pay, adding that, they also need money to fix their facilities and when they breakdown, users lambastes them for failure to leave up to their responsibilities as manager of the airports.

“Their apron passes expired and they were supposed to renew before the expiration date and they did not. Apron pass are given for a one year period and within that one year period they are supposed to renew.

“The money is not much, it is just N200,000, an oil marketer cannot pay N200,000, when our facilities break down, they except us to fix it, government is not giving us subsection for any of these things, we are an IGR agency and it is expected that all our facilities to be up to date and we need money to run these things and many of our customers are owing”.