Missionaries worldwide are feeling the impact of soaring fuel prices.
Last year, Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) was paying, on average, $5 a gallon for aviation fuel, or "avgas." The mission organization operates 134 planes, and the price of avgas has shot up to $13 a gallon and could still go higher. The planes deliver food and other supplies to missionaries worldwide. John Boyd, president of MAF, says the situation is critical. "The price of gas here in the U.S. is going up. Similarly, we believe and we've been told that the price of a gallon of avgas is probably going to hit the $18 to $19 a gallon mark in the very near future," Boyd explains. "So as a ministry flying all over the world and using these light aircraft to reach the very people we're there to serve, you can imagine the huge impact the cost has." The ministry, according to Boyd, is trying to raise more funding to offset the rising fuel costs. Eventually, Boyd points out that MAF will utilize some of the different aircraft and engine designs that will be more fuel efficient. "MAF has embarked on a far-reaching project to see how we can replace over 90 percent of our fleet with turbine-driven engine airplanes. Those are aircraft that use jet fuel – the same as the fuel you and I would use if we fly a commercial airliner here in the United States," Boyd contends. "But that is a huge undertaking from a capital dollar point of view and will take many years to accomplish."
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