Aviation

Their combined ages are just 45. But that didn’t stop 26-year-old captain Kate McWilliams and her 19-year-old co-pilot Luke Elsworth from flying hundreds of passengers to their destinations this week. The young pilots manned a flight from London to Malta, after McWilliams earlier passed a course ascending to the rank of captain. Their employer, the British carrier Easyjet, believes McWilliams has become the world’s youngest commercial airline captain — with co-pilot Elsworth also one of…

*Airline may get more funds for expansion   Wole Shadare President, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Benedict Oramah said the firm is collaborating with Nigerian flag carrier airline, Arik to promote intra-Africa trade, saying its partnership with the airline has been mutually rewarding. Oramah made the disclosure when he led his team to hold a business strategic meeting with the management of the carrier at its headquarters at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos at the weekend….

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is working with Egyptian authorities to find a practical solution to release foreign exchange funds claimed by international airlines operating to Egypt. Since March 2016, airlines have been unable to repatriate the full amount due them under international conventions, as a result of restrictions imposed by the Egyptian Government. The current value of funds blocked in Egypt stands at $275 million.     Discussions between airlines, the Central Bank…

*Bruce, Ore, Williams back action *Demuren, Meggison seek clear cut concession direction Stakeholders in the aviation industry were sharply divided over the plans by the Federal Government to privatise four of the major aerodromes across the country. The four airports that are slated for concessioning are those in Lagos, Abuja, Port and Kano. To show its seriousness, the Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika had already set up two committees to midwife the process….

No fewer than 3,000 pilgrims, who performed the 2016 Hajj in Saudi Arabia have arrived on Medview flights to Lagos, Kaduna and Kano. The latest flight arrived on Friday morning at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, with 323  pilgrims. The pilgrims comprised those who travelled through Med-View Travels Konsult and some other tour agents as well as pilgrims from Oyo State. They were conveyed in a Boeing 777-200 deployed for Hajj operations by Med-View Airline. The…

  *Airlines benefit from fall in oil price *Nigerian carriers in dire straits   The International Air Transport Association (IATA)  said global airlines are expected to post record profits of almost $40 billion this year, but warned the sector faced threats from terrorism, a sharp rise in oil prices and protectionism. IATA’s Chief Executive Officer, Alexandre de Juniac, who took the reins at the International Air Transport Association on September 1, also called on Southeast…

An Austrian airline is about to make history by offering the world’s shortest international flight. The trip will take passengers from St. Gallen, Switzerland across Lake Constance to Friedrichshafen, Germany—a mere eight minute journey that covers just 12.5 miles. The flight is the first leg of a new, longer route that will take passengers from St.Gallen to Cologne in northwest Germany.   The previous record was a 10 minute flight between Vienna, Austria and Slovakia’s capital…

  *Rewards passengers   To provide greater value and added features for travellers, mega carrier,  Emirates said it has revamped its corporate loyalty programme, Emirates Business Rewards.  The new programme has been simplified and made more competitive to allow for easier redemptions and upgrades even on last minute bookings. One of the biggest features in the newly improved programme is the ability to use Business Rewards Points to book any commercially available seat at any…

The absence of the judge in the trial of the former Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Ibrahim Abdulsalam in a N6.8billion fraud was stalled at the Federal High Court, Lagos. Abdulsalam is facing trial alongside six of his former Directors and General Managers for allegedly stealing and defrauding NAMA to the tune of N6.8 billion. They were said to have used it for the personal use.   Others facing trial with…

Fifteen years after the Federal Government partnered with the private sector to build aircraft maintenance hangar, the project seems to have been abandoned, WoleshadareNews has learnt. Experts said that the country would have saved over $300 million if the facility were built then, adding that it would cost over $600 million to build one now, considering the depreciation of naira against the dollar. This is coming as there are deafening calls for an aircraft maintenance hangar as…