Author: Wole Shadare

  Former Director-General of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr. Harold Demuren has advocated low interest rates on loans, saying that pegging of bank loans interest rate to single digit would help reduce airlines’ burden especially post COVID-19 pandemic.  He called on the Federal Government to intervene in the operations of the indigenous airlines by addressing the double-digit interest rates on loan obtained by the carries. At a recent virtual seminar, with theme, “The Challenges and…

  ***Country’s market to fall by $0.6 billion in 2020 The International Air Transport Association (IATA) Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East, Muhammed AlBakri has called on the Government of Tunisia to urgently provide financial relief measures for the aviation industry in order to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on the nation’s economy. The global airline body estimates that revenues generated by airlines in the Tunisian market will fall by…

  ***April, cruelest month for aviation-IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that demand for air services is beginning to recover after hitting bottom in April. Passenger demand in April (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs), plunged 94.3 per cent compared to April 2019, as the COVID-19-related travel restrictions virtually shut down domestic and international air travel. This is a rate of decline never seen in the history of IATA’s traffic series, which dates back…

***Warns airlines to adhere to plane disinfecting protocol Ahead of the June 21 planned resumption of domestic air operations in Nigeria, which was shut down by the Federal Government as part of the measures to curtail the spread of the dreaded Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Capt. Ado Sanusi, the Managing Director of Aero Contractors, one of the oldest carriers in Nigeria said airlines in the country would be ready to go back to the skies at…

Cautions against jamboree bailout for carriers The Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has attributed the weakness of Nigerian airlines to poor capital structure, difficulty in accessing cost effective leases, high insurance costs, access to foreign exchange and very marginal share of the lucrative regional flights, among others. AMCON’s Executive Director, Operation, Aminu Ismail in a paper he presented at an online forum, titled, “Reviving Nigerian Aviation”, made available to Woleshadarenews disclosed that aviation in Nigeria has…

  he new normal in air travel may require people to adapt, but looking into the future, it is important to take a look back. How was air travel before the virus? WOLE SHADARE asks   New era Higher fares, fewer routes, pre-flight health checks and less free food: The coronavirus pandemic is ushering in a new era of air travel not only in Nigeria but the world over. In all likelihood, domestic air travel will be…

 The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has urged governments to quickly implement the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO’s) global guidelines for restoring air connectivity.  The ICAO Council approved Takeoff: Guidance for Air Travel through the COVID-19 Public Health Crisis (Takeoff). This is an authoritative and comprehensive framework of risk-based temporary measures for air transport operations during the COVID-19 crisis. “The universal implementation of global standards has made aviation safe. A similar approach is critical in this crisis…

  Wants repair of aviation industry The Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA) sees the resumption of South African domestic passenger air services, albeit on a limited basis, as a positive move, adding that more destinations will be included in a phased in basis for the industry to make a meaningful contribution to the recovery of the country’s economy. Under the country’s State of Disaster COVID-19 Level 3 restrictions, which came into force today, local…

  Plans to resume domestic flights to begin from 21st of June   As the Federal Government begins the second phase of the four weeks easing of the lockdown to open up some economic and social activities, the evacuation of Nigerians abroad has been suspended until a new policy on mandatory supervised isolation of persons arriving the country is completed. Also, prior arrangement of evacuation of Nigerians from outside to the country is suspended until…