Industry organisation the Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA) calls on fuel suppliers, depots, airports and governments in the region to urgently share their contingency fuel allocation and distribution plans with the aviation industry.

There is a lack of clarity around the availability of jet fuel across the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region beyond May, says AASA CEO Aaron Munetsi.

Air transport is particularly susceptible to disrupted fuel supplies because it depends almost entirely on imported crude oil and refined Jet-A1 kerosene.

Airlines require certainty on the security of jet fuel supplies beyond a six-week horizon, if they are to maintain their schedules and fulfil their obligations to customers, he emphasises.

Additionally, even after the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is lifted, it will take months for fuel production to return to its previous output as several refineries in the Gulf have been damaged and will need to be repaired or rebuilt.

“This is why we need transparent updates on fuel stocks, including what has been ordered but must still be delivered, as well as the status of national strategic fuel reserves, the conditions that would trigger their release and how those reserves would be allocated and prioritised.

“While we hope the situation in the Gulf will be resolved sooner so fuel shipments can resume, we must safeguard aviation in case the impasse continues,” says Munetsi.

Since the war between the US-Israel and Iran began at the end of February, jet fuel prices in Southern Africa have increased, on average, more than three-fold from about R8.50/ℓ in mid-February to more than R30/ℓ by mid-April. In landlocked countries, such as Malawi, the Jet-A1 prices have increased to more than R50/ℓ.

These increases have been on the back of rising crude oil prices and concerns about security of supply.

The increases have exacerbated the situation for African airlines, which, even before the current crisis, were paying some of the highest jet fuel prices in the world. Jet fuel accounted for up to 40% of some of the region’s airline carriers’ costs, he adds.

Further, the spike has prompted most SADC-based airlines to implement cost recovery mechanisms in the form of fuel surcharges, and some carriers have also begun reducing frequencies and consolidating flights.

However, airlines cannot plan or operate in an information vacuum.

Airlines are acutely aware of the pressure that increased ticket prices exert on their customers and the ripple effects across the economy owing to a reliance on air transport.

This includes passengers as well as the transport of goods and essential pharmaceuticals and other perishables, e-commerce goods, courier services and high-value cargo.

Simultaneously, airlines should not be expected to absorb the shock on their own.

Airports and air navigation service providers must also come to the fore and collaborate with airlines in this regard. The must ensure they operate with maximum efficiency by eliminating congestion and delays that waste fuel and increase costs, says Munetsi.