Author: Wole Shadare

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has attributed the Qatar Airways incident of last week Thursday to bird strike which it said hit the number one engine of the aircraft. The NCAA, in a statement by its spokesman, Sam Adurogboye said the Qatar Airways A330 aircraft with registration number AD-AED, Flight no. 1408 scheduled operation from Lagos to Doha received a push back to take off from the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) at 14.45hrs…

In the wake of Arik’s financial mess and eventual take over, airline operators under the aegis of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) have raised concern over multiple taxes, charges and levies inflicted on them by government that has threatened their existence.   The operators who are showing panic over Arik’s predicament stated that in this time of economic hardship in the nation, it is rather unfortunate that the system has failed to recognize airlines area…

*Creditors get payment assurance     Within 48 hours of intervention by the government, Arik Air is receiving assistance to be able to offer smooth flight services.  A source close to the carrier and the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) told Woleshadare.net that contrary to what was previously recorded, Arik have debts in huge amounts, in excess of N300 billion, especially with some banks, excluding fuel suppliers, lessors and maintenance companies.  Sources say following it’s…

Aviation think tank, Aviation Round Table (ART) yesterday said treating the Arik Air’s case in isolation would be to trivialize the magnitude of the problem, saying they all saw it coming     On Thursday, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) took over the carrier. The takeover would help to save over 2,000 jobs as the carrier is seriously ailing.   President ART, Elder Gbenga Olowo said going back to almost 40 years, Government…

First it was Hollywood, then Bollywood and now Delta Air Lines is bringing Nollywood to the skies with Nigerian-made movies on board its flights.   The genre is being rolled out across Delta’s in-flight entertainment system Delta Studio and will be complete in April.    The first films to be shown will be Bambitiousand A Place Called Happy, with more titles coming later in the year.    The movies will be available on 339 aircraft flying both…

The Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has taken over Arik Air over huge indebtedness running into several billions of naira.   For some time now, the airline, which carries about 55 per cent of the load in the country, has been going through difficult times that are attributable to its bad corporate governance, erratic operational challenges, inability to pay staff salaries and heavy debt burden among other issues, which led to the call for authorities…

Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s the largest and fastest growing African airline, proudly announces that it received its third Airbus A350 XWB on February 1st, 2017. The aircraft is named after Erta Ale, a large basaltic shield volcano located in the Afar Region of north-eastern Ethiopia. Group CEO Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam said, “As part of our continuous fleet modernization program, we have now phased in a third Airbus A350 XWB 900. Both the B-787 Dreamliner and the…

Security operatives stormed the headquarters of Arik at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.   While security operatives and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) visited the airline, aggrieved passengers of the airline also stormed the airline’s headquarters to demand for the refund of their air ticket fares.   The carrier has been in the news for the wrong reasons in the past six months. It has been embroiled in activities that have affected its…

For logistical reasons, British Airways said that the management of the airline based in London, after taking a far reaching decision would not operate to Kaduna Airport. The carrier attributed its decision to shun the airport to logistic problems. The mega carrier would now operate its Abuja flight to Lagos, making it twice daily flights to Lagos, but assured that it would immediately resume operations after the completion of work on the Abuja airport runway…

For Many Years, None Of The Country’s Airports Met The High Standard Of Certification. The Narrative Is About To Change As Abuja And Lagos Are Slated For The First Among The Aerodromes For Certification, WOLE SHADARE Writes   The rot in the nation’s aviation sector may have found deep expression in the assessed parlous infrastructural facilities be-deviling the gateways over the years, with succour now coming from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). The 22…