Author: Wole Shadare

  Aircraft giant, Airbus said it has booked orders for 25 jetliners from its A320, A330 and A350 XWB families during April, while the month’s 46 deliveries involved aircraft in the same three product lines.   Leading the new business were bookings for a total of 14 A320-series single-aisle aircraft, composed of three A320ceo and two A320neo versions for China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings Limited, four A319ceo aircraft for an undisclosed customer, three A320ceo jetliners for…

All equipment on Cat 2-Farouk   The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has faulted report in a national newspaper that its navigational facilities are unserviceable, describing the allegation as “grossly unsubstantiated”.   NAMA has recently hinted that it would purchase landing aids in nine airports to provide back-up for most of its equipment just as navigational aids in over 11 airports were successfully calibrated prior to the resumption of flights services at the Abuja airport….

First Chinese-made passenger jet makes flying debut The first large Chinese-made passenger jetliner completed its maiden test flight on Friday, a milestone in China’s long-term goal to break into the Western-dominated aircraft market. The take-off of the C919 brought cheers and applause from hundreds of invited guests at Shanghai Pudong International Airport and was broadcast live on Chinese state television. The jet soon became invisible on a windy and polluted day in Shanghai, which was…

Activities marking the 10th Anniversary of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two (MMA2) start on Sunday with a thanksgiving service at Archbishop Vining Memorial Church, Ikeja, Lagos, at 10am. MMA2, operated under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) concession agreement between the Federal Government and Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), a member of The Resort Group, is the first successful privately-funded Design, Build, Operate and Transfer (DBOT) airport terminal in Nigeria. It was inaugurated in 2007 by…

 Wole Shadare Without attempting to sound hyperactive, three aircraft incidents in one week are enough to raise concern on air travel safety and attendant danger in Nigeria. Two weeks, precisely April 18, smoke reportedly engulfed Aero Contractors’ flight NG316 from Port Harcourt airport to Lagos, unexpectedly, causing panic among the passengers. The smoke engulfed the cabin some 20 minutes after take-off and continued until it touched down in Lagos. The Bombardier Q300 Dash 8 had…

Global Air Freight Demand Increases 14% in March The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released March 2017 demand growth results for global air freight markets showing a 14 per cent expansion measured in freight tonne kilometers (FTKs) compared to the same period last year.    Meanwhile, African carriers’ posted the largest year-on-year increase in demand of all regions in March 2017 with freight volumes growing 33.5 per cent. Capacity increased by 6.3 per cent over the…