The North American Airlines has abandoned African routes including Ghana, following the rising cost of aviation fuel, popularly called Jet A1. Many domestic airlines had, two weeks ago, increased their fares by about 20 percent after the latest fuel price hike. Although the North American Airlines confirmed in a statement on Tuesday that the African routes had been lucrative since it commenced operation, it said the lingering fuel crisis had crippled its business and it was finding it difficult to break even. Other routes affected by the airline's decision include Georgetown, Guyana. The airline's Chief Commercial and Planning Officer, Mr. Rob Binns was quoted in a statement that the airline’s fuel costs had increased by 60 percent since it entered the African markets in 2005. "North American (Airline) has a long history of serving the New York-Guyana market, and we were the first U.S. airline in decades to fly non-stop service from the United States to sub-Saharan Africa,” said Rob Binnes, Chief Commercial and Planning Officer. "We also have had excellent customer response to our nonstop service between", Georgetown and John F. Kennedy International Airport since its inception in 1999, and we regret that economic conditions now force us to bring these flights to an end." According to the statement, all customers currently booked on discontinued North American flights will receive a refund for the unused portion of their reservation or may opt to travel on an earlier date. "North American's modern Boeing 757/767 fleet is in high demand and we will redeploy these aircraft profitably in the charter market," Binns said. North American Airlines, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Global Aero Logistics Inc., is a U .S.-certificated air carrier offering air transportation services throughout the world for the U.S. military and commercial customers. Founded in 1989, North American operates a fleet of 10 passenger aircraft decades to fly non-stop service from the United States to sub-Saharan Africa. Source: Daily Graphic