Author: Wole Shadare

  Minister, Turkish chiefs meet, begins freight of passengers’ baggage   Nigeria, huge market to toy with-Stakeholders Embattled Turkish Airlines has held a meeting with the Acting Director-General, Captain Abdullahi Sidi with a pledge to commence immediately freight of all left over passengers’ baggage in Turkey to Nigeria. The freighting which commenced week Friday will continue till December 17, 2019 according to NCAA spokesman, Sam Adurogboye. Consequently, the aviation regulatory body said it expects strict compliance to…

The suspension of Turkish airline from Nigeria air space for treating Nigeria’s disrespectfully has received the commendation from the Director General of National Council for Arts and Culture(NCAC), Otunba Segun Runsewe. He described the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) intervention as bold and courageous,  adding that time has come for all foreign airlines and other service providers in Nigeria to respect and treat Nigerians decently. Last week, NCAA after several complains from Nigerians travelling public,…

  The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has attributed the reduction in carbon emissions per passenger to fuel efficiency improvement of 2.3% over the period since 2009, some 0.8 percentage points ahead of target. The clearing house for over 290 global airlines equally confirmed that carbon emissions per passenger have declined by more than 50% since 1990.   The progress, it said is a combination of investments in more efficient aircraft and operational efficiencies.  …

  Skyway Aviation Handling Company Public Liability Company (SAHCO) has renewed its ground handling contract with Arik Air. Managing Director/CEO, SAHCO, Mr. Basil Agboarumi disclosed this while  assuring that his firm would deliver quality and improved ground handling services to all its clientele across the nation’s airports especially as it acquires more state-of-the-art equipment for operations. Agboarumi stated that some new ground handling equipment of the company would in the next few weeks arrive the country,…

Support $2.7 trilliion economic activity Wole Shadare, Geneva Poor air connectivity in Africa has again been highlighted at the on-going International Air Transport Association (IATA) taking place in Geneva, Switzerland. IATA Chief Economist, Brian Pearce attributed the problems to flight restrictions by governments in the continent as against ‘Open Skies’ enshrined in the proposed Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) which many said would be a significant step forward in opening the way for essential…

Nigeria boasts of population many say is almost 200 million. This, however, does not translate to huge traffic due more to prevailing economic situation. WOLE SHADARE writes Paradox Nigeria despite a significant increase in domestic passenger traffic in 2018 by almost 30 per cent, there is still a huge gap in travel demand by Nigerians. No fewer than 15 million air travellers both domestic and international went through Nigeria Airports in 2018, according to figures released by…

Qatar Airways has agreed to take a 60% stake in a new $1.3 billion international airport in Rwanda, the state-run Rwanda Development Board said on Twitter on Monday. The board said a first phase of construction would provide facilities for 7 million passengers a year in the Bugesera district, about 25 km south east of the capital Kigali. A second phase, expected to be completed by 2032, would double capacity to 14 million passengers a…

Arik Air received two aircraft from C-Check over the weekend, thereby boosting the operations of the airline in the coming festive season. The two aircraft include a Q-400, while the Boeing 737-800 check was conducted by Lufthansa Technik AG in Malta. Over the last two years the current management has been working hard to improve the number of serviceable aircraft in the airline ’ s fleet. The efforts are yielding results. The Arik fleet are…

  ●Seek law to protect sector Except a truce is reached, engineers and pilots of two domestic airlines (names withheld) may down tool over pay disparity between them and their expatriate counterparts. The Nigerian workers are frustrated by the huge gap created by their employers at the detriment of more qualified indigenous pilots and engineers. Experts are demanding the enactment of local content caw to protect indigenous workers. National Vice President, National Association of Aircraft…

  Stakeholders in the aviation sector spoke in unison that for the aviation industry to grow and take its rightful place in Africa, there should be a concerted effort by policy makers, airline owners and service providers to chart a path for sustainable development.   They made their voices heard at the Fourth Quarter Business Breakfast Meeting organised by the Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ASRTI) in Lagos with theme Aviation in Nigeria beyond 2025….