Consumption of jet fuel in the half year to June hit the highest levels in at least seven years, underscoring the continued recovery of the aviation industry.
Analysis of official consumption data shows that use of jet fuel rose 12.6 percent to 455.56 million litres up from 404.37 million litres in the same period last year, making it the only fuel whose usage grew in the six-month period.
Increased use of jet fuel points to a recovery in the sector at a time consumption of petrol and diesel declined despite a significant drop in prices of the two commodities.
Prices of jet fuel are not controlled by the State, unlike those of petrol, diesel and kerosene. This is mainly because petrol, diesel and kerosene are used by the masses and their prices significantly impact all economic sectors.
“The increased activity through the Kenyan airspace is attributed to improved performance of the aviation industry and recovery in economic activities from the interruptions brought about by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Kenya Civil Aviation Authority said.
Revenues from the aviation sector jumped 59 percent to Sh20 billion in the financial year that ended June, up from Sh12.6 billion in the 2022/23 financial year.
But usage of petrol and diesel declined despite the falling prices of the two fuels, pointing to economically depressed consumers who are cutting costs in the wake of thinning payslips and earnings.
Consumption of petrol fell 2.9 percent to 986.2 million litres from 1.01 billion litres in the same period last year while that of diesel dropped 2.5 percent to 1.27 billion litres from 1.31 billion litres.
Declining demand for diesel and petrol came despite a steady fall in pump prices where a litre of petrol fell to Sh189.84 in June from Sh212.36 at the start of the year while that of diesel dropped to Sh173.10 from 201.47 in the same period in Nairobi.
The only time since 2018 that consumption of diesel was lower than this year was in 2020 when travel restrictions imposed to curb spread of the Coronavirus cut demand to 1.16 billion litres between January and June.
Traditionally, a drop in the cost of fuel spurs demand.
