Author: Wole Shadare

A 20-year-old programme of the United States to assist African countries to maintain high safety standards has come to an end with obvious implications. WOLE SHADARE reports US draws curtain The Safe Skies for Africa programme established by former President Clinton on April 1, 1998, which aimed to improve safety and security in aviation on the continent, has finally come to an end. Speaking nostalgically about the impact of the programme to high safety record in Africa, Commissioner,…

Despite over 1,000 pilots that are currently not engaged and roaming the streets, the aviation industry in Nigeria has been hit by shortage of pilots. Aside Nigeria, the global aviation industry is facing similar problem. A widespread deficit of pilots across all continents has affected the sector, particularly in recent years, with cases of pilot shortages regularly occurring.  A top official with the United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), at the close of a…

Agency released 58% accident reports in two years The Federal Executive Council had approved the proposal for the new draft bill of Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) to empower the bureau to investigate rail, road and marine accidents and serious incidents is currently before the Senate. The AIB is taking after the United States National Transportation Board (NTSB), an independent federal agency charged by Congress with investigating every civil aviation accident in the U.S. and significant…

To ensure air safety at the airport, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has concluded plans to shut the runway at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu for major repairs on the airfield. Spokeswoman for FAAN, Henrietta Yakubu in a statement said airlines, passengers and all other stakeholders had been notified of the closure that will take place on August 24th, 2019 but did not give date for opening of the airport. She stated that…

      Travel agencies urged to diversify      Opens new branch in Garki, Abuja Focused on the need to upgrade the operations of travel agencies in the country, Finchglow Travels, Nigeria’s leading Travel Management Company (TMC), has recently held a training with its trade partners in Abuja while focusing on the theme: “Collaboration to Achieving Results.” Coming up at a time when technology is predicted to take over businesses in the coming years, the essence of…

With the resurgence of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has directed all operators, especially airlines operating regional and international flights into the country, to exercise a high level of vigilance. In line with International Health Regulations (IHR), the World Health Organisation (WHO) had declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). The directive by the Authority was contained in a…

The merger of airlines into two strong mega domestic airlines has been described as panacea to the frequent collapse of Nigerian airlines. This was the view of stakeholders, who spoke to Woleshadarenews on the side-line of an aviation seminar held recently in Lagos. They disclosed that the merger of four or more domestic airlines would help to eliminate frequent demise of airlines, which lifespan is put at 10 years. Many of Nigerian airlines do not…

Nigeria is generally viewed as having one of the most liberalised air transport industries in Africa.  Although still competitive within Africa, it has a significantly weaker bargaining power as regards the BASAs with non-African countries, thereby leading to an imbalance with results spanning from increased dominance of foreign airlines to capital flight. WOLE SHADARE reports Business of freedom Nothing should stand in the way of aviation. Aviation has been described as business of freedom. Aviation is globalisation at…

The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) says a total of 80 personnel have been programmed for training at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology  (NCAT) Zaria this year with first batch of 20 already receiving training NAMA’s Director of Safety Electronics and Engineering Services, Ahmad Umar Faruk, an engineer disclosed this in Abuja at the 9th IFATSEA African Regional Conference said only properly trained personnel can successfully execute timely system maintenance procedures at CNS Stations easily…

An Industry Working Group (IWG) on multiple taxations has berated recent demand by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).  The group set up seven years ago by Nigerian Communications (NCC) to address issues of multiple taxation in the sector, expressed worry that several government agencies in the country see telecoms as cash cow, hence various demands. NCAA had last April threatened to demolish 7000 base stations over the failure of the mobile network operators to…