Jet fuel consumption dropped for the first time in six years, bucking a trend of growth among the other types of petroleum products despite record-high prices.
An analysis of data from the energy regulator shows that aircraft consumed 862.45 million litres of jet fuel in the year ended June 2026, marking a six percent drop from 917.45 million litres a year ago. The drop is a first in six years, with the other fall being a 24.9 percent dip to 543.07 million litres in the year to June 2021.
The drop came at a time when the US-Iran war triggered regional closures of airspace in the Middle East and the grounding of major international flights, hitting traffic of international aircraft at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and the Moi International Airport in Mombasa.
But usage of diesel, petrol and kerosene grew in the year ended June 2026 as consumers defied the record high prices attributed to the Middle East-induced global price rally.
Consumption of diesel grew 11.7 percent to 3.01 billion litres, while that for petrol increased by 10.2 percent to 2.4 billion litres. Kerosene usage also grew by 10.7 percent to 57.4 million litres in the year under review.
Prices of diesel and petrol surged to a record high of Sh242.92 and Sh214.25 respectively in Nairobi in May this year, as Kenya took a hit from the supply disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict.
The record-high prices of diesel and petrol were anticipated to hit consumption in the form of fewer vehicles on our roads. But consumers defied the steep prices, pushing the consumption of diesel and petrol to historic highs in a year.
For jet fuel, the scenario was different. International airlines that use JKIA and Moi International Airport were forced from March this year to cut down on their flights destined for or transiting via the Middle East regional airspace in the wake of the US-Iran war.
The reduced flights to or from JKIA and the Moi International Airport in Mombasa hit consumption of jet fuel at the two airports, given that the two facilities also serve as refueling points for international airlines.
Consumption of jet fuel has since recovered, even forcing the country to import an emergency cargo to avert an outage.
Confidential official correspondence seen by the Business Daily revealed that Kenya received 30,000 tonnes of jet fuel on August 20, 2026, outside the G-to-G deal that the country signed with Saudi Aramco, Emirates National Oil Company, and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company to supply petroleum products since March 2023.
JKIA has become busier in the past few months after it became an unexpected transit and refueling hub because the Middle East conflict forced the closure of regional airspaces and main aviation hubs.
