Aviation

    Africa’s airlines have been pushed to the precipice; no thanks to COVID-19. Many of them have been piling on debts long before the pandemic. Governments’ bailouts have been the oxygen sustaining them. WOLE SHADARE focuses on financial wisdom in sustaining them amid tiny market share   Tiny market share Questions are swirling in Africa and elsewhere over the financial wisdom of sustaining prestige carriers that often have a tiny share of aviation market that sees no…

Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury has indicated that the European planemaker could sue airline customers for breaking contracts and refusing to accept aircraft deliveries. In an interview with Politico, Mr Faury said that lawsuits “will happen” if airlines are fully defaulting and “not proposing something better than nothing, or are not willing to do it”. Airlines have been slammed by the coronavirus crisis and many are requesting deferrals on deliveries from manufacturers and lessors. A number…

***Calls for collaboration, Fadugba laments lopsided BASA ***Foster faults multiple taxations  Former Secretary General of African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC), Ms. Iyabo Sosina has advocated for a policy that could see airlines in Nigeria reduced to not more than four in Nigeria with maximum of between ten and 20 aircraft. This is coming amid call by Nigeria’s respected international aviation consultant and Chairman, African Business Aviation Association (AfBAA), Mr. Nick Fadugba called for an immediate review…

   A “new baby” was born with the revival of Uganda Airlines, the country’s president announced last year. But now its four new jets sit idle, business suspended indefinitely because of coronavirus-related travel restrictions. Questions are swirling in Africa and elsewhere over the financial wisdom of sustaining prestige carriers that often have a tiny share of aviation market that sees no recovery in sight, according to The Associated Press. African airlines had been piling on debt long before the…

  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…