Fuel shortage forces South Supreme Airline to ground in Juba

September 11, 2015 (JUBA) – South Sudan’s first operation air services company, South Supreme Airline, has on Friday announced that it had started grounding its aircrafts due to insufficiency of US dollars in the country.

“We have been facing shortage of dollars despite our operations domestically and around East African countries. We are unable to access the dollars to enhance our activities across the region,” tycoon Ayii Duang Ayii, company owner, told Sudan Tribune on Friday.

He said for the past six months the company could not pay salaries to foreign staff, pilots and engineers who are paid in US dollars.

“This issue of dollars shortage has also affected us in getting kerosene fuel and standard aircraft’s services camper to delivering of the planes to Paris, Holland and Jordon for maintenance,” he said.

He alternatively demanded that his company would resume flights to South Sudan’s states if customers either agree to increase the ticket fare amount or the Central Bank availed dollars to them,” he said.

“We will resume our flights to states if our customers will afford to pay $400 from Juba to Wau, $300 from Juba to Yumbio and $200 from Juba to Yei, we will also reverse our decision if the Governor of Central Bank of South Sudan approves us dollars,” he said.

South Supreme Airline company, based in Juba, started its operations in the region since 2013 with its company global insurance licensees expired this year.

Ayii said the shortage of dollars has also made it impossible for them to renew the expired period of the company licenses, also adding that the international bodies that regulate operations of the planes and renew licenses require the payment to be done in hard currencies.

(ST)