NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Domestic airline operators say that they are doing their best to minimize the impact of rising fuel costs on the traveling public, noting that such costs directly impact flight operations and can trickle down to ticket prices.
Rexy Rolle, vice-president of operations and general counsel of Western Air, said: “We have actually seen a steady increase in fuel prices over the past few months, and we anticipate this trend continuing in that direction, particularly with recent events globally. The rise in fuel has a direct impact on the cost of flight operations and can trickle down to ticket prices, though we do our best to keep the impact on passengers as minimal as possible.”
“Separate from the fuel price, with the increase of air traffic there is significantly more fuel being burned,” she said.
“Some flights have waited 45 minutes to an hour to land or takeoff at LPIA simply due to traffic volume. In other cases flights have had to go to an alternate airport for additional fuel, while awaiting clearance to land. These circumstances certainly deepen the impact of higher fuel costs.”
The war between Ukraine and Russia, one of the world’s largest oil exporters, has sparked global price hikes – notably of oil, which has risen past $100 a barrel. The rise in fuel prices is also proving to be a major headache for the aviation sector as it tries to recover from the impact of the pandemic on travel.
