Aviation

* Trapped funds: BA – $100m, Iberia – $5m, Air France/KLM – $150m United States-based airline, Delta, and British mega carrrier, British Airways (BA), are poised to reap from the sudden withdrawal of United Airline’s service from the lucrative US-Nigerian route. This is coming at a time some of the carriers have given a breakdown of their funds trapped in the country. The total of BA’s trapped funds is $100 million as at March 2016,…

British Airways has refuted media report that it plans to stop operations to Nigeria over its $100m trapped in the country. It stated that publication in the media (not woleshadare.net) that the carrier had concluded plans to exit the country was untrue, stressing that it never issued any statement to the media indicating such. The airline in a statement yesterday it has a long history in Nigeria, having begun operations in the country 80 years…

  *Four passengers test positive for narcotic ingestion An Emirates flight EK 262 from Sao Paulo, Brazil to Dubai, United Arab Emirates made an emergency landing today in Lagos due to the deteriorating health condition of a suspected cocaine trafficker. Screening by anti-narcotic officials found four passengers positive for drug ingestion who are currently under interrogation. One of the suspects in critical health condition was immediately hospitalised as doctors battle to save his life. Chairman/Chief…

From left: Chief Financial Officer, Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), Mr. Olusola Olayinka; Director, E & F Services, International Air Transport Association (IATA), Mr. Manfred Blondeel; Head, Aeronautical Services, BASL, Mr. Ralph Uchegbu and Account Specialist, E & F Services, IATA, Mrs. Christine Charlier, during a courtesy visit by a delegation from IATA to the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two (MMA2), Lagos, on Wednesday. From left: Aviation Solutions Manager, South West Africa, International Air Transport…

The state of Nigerian aviation under President Muhammadu Buhari in the past one year could best be described mixed, writes WOLE SHADARE The aviation industry, in the past one year under the administration of President Buhari, started slowly. Expectations were high, going by the fact that the new administrators were expected to give the sector a positive direction, compared to what happened previously. The appointment of Rotimi Amaechi and Hadi Sirika as minister of transportation…

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Africa is set to be one of the fastest-growing aviation regions over the next 20 years, with annual expansion averaging nearly five per cent.   This, it said opens up incredible economic opportunities for the continents 54 nations.   Caption: From left: Regional Vice-President (Africa and Middle- East, IATA, Hussein Dabbas; Deputy Regional Director, ICAO Gaoussou Konate; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation,  Alhaji Sabiu Zakari; Secretary-General of African…

*Seek waiver execution Ministry of Aviation is working with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Ministry of Budget and National Planning and Ministry of Finance to include airlines in priority list of foreign exchange allocation, Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika has said   The Minister stated this in a paper he presented at the stakeholders’ meeting he held with airline operators, aviation agencies and experts in the sector where he unfolded plans to tackle…

The Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja runway, which was constructed 34 years ago, has outlived its lifespan by over 14 years,woleshadare.net has learnt. A former Director of Airport Operation of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), who spoke under the condition of anonymity, disclosed this to our correspondent. The source stated that the Abuja airport runway and many others were built over 30 years ago, stressing that Abuja facility was built in 1982.  He…

Nigerian airspace safe, says NAMA The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has assured stakeholders that the nation’s airspace remains one of the safest on the continent of Africa for air navigation. Speaking while declaring open the demonstration of Aircraft e-Clearance User Acceptance Test Module to National Air Defence Corp, Security Agencies and other stakeholders in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the Ag. Managing Director of NAMA,  Emma Anasi noted that the agency in the recent past…

*IATA, report rank Africa as highest in airport taxes *FAAN rakes $34 m annually from airport taxes      The International Air Transport Association (IATA) today ranked Nigeria and Venezuela as two countries with highest number of airlines’ funds trapped in their countries. This is coming at a time the clearing house for global airlines is engaging the Federal Government at all levels to ensure that issues with trapped funds are resolved. The group at…