Nigeria, June 24 -- Nigerian airlines are increasingly relying on commercial bank loans to sustain daily operations as the cost of aviation fuel continues to place heavy pressure on the industry.

The Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace and vice-president of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Allen Onyema, disclosed this on Tuesday.

Mr Onyema said operators are struggling to remain viable in an environment where fuel prices and borrowing costs have both risen sharply.

Speaking on Arise Television, he said the price of aviation fuel, also known as Jet A1, had risen by more than 250 per cent in recent months from about N900 per litre to as high as N3,300, forcing airlines to depend heavily on borrowed funds.

"We have all borrowed a...