Lagos — Domestic airline operators may increase fares next week, in response to the sudden increase of the price of aviation fuel, known as Jet A1, by oil marketers.

THISDAY learnt that one hour flight, which is presently N16, 000. 00 (like from Lagos to Abuja ), would now be N20, 000. 00. Some of the major oil marketers, had written to the airlines last week, notifying them of the decision to increase prices of aviation fuel from N85 per litre to N107.

In a letter one of the oil companies stated, "we hereby inform you that due to escalating costs of petroleum products, including jet fuel, we are constrained to review upward our jet fuel prices in the following airfields."

The prices of the products are graduated in accordance to the destination. Thus the product would be sold N95. 00 per litre in Lagos, N102.00 in Abuja, N101.00 in Port Harcourt , N105. 00 in Kano and N104.00 in Kaduna.

Others are N101. 50 in Enugu , N102.00 in Calabar and N107.00 for Maiduguri and Yola.In January this year, the marketers and the House Committee on Aviation agreed to bring down the cost of Jet A1 from N145.00 per litre to N85.00 in response to crash of crude in the international market late 2008.But in spite of the agreement, representatives of the marketers have started increasing prices even before the recent official increases.

The airlines said increasing the fare is the only way they could mitigate the high oil prices, adding that such increase may force some of the airlines to collapse, because of huge operational costs.Secretary-general of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Captain Mohammed Joji, said the increase has no justification, because crude oil prices have not increased so much in the international market.