Aviation

High charges, taxes irresponsible-IATA chief   The imposition of $7 per passenger on each international airline ticket sold and remitting the same to the government agency as a luggage fumigation charge has reinforced interest in Africa as one of the continents with high airport charges. However, Ghana’s Minority in Parliament is sounding the alarm bells over a $7 charge imposed by the government on airline tickets. The Minority describes the charge as illegal as it…

Airbus Helicopters has received certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the H160 helicopter, marking a significant milestone in the aircraft’s development and positioning it for entry into the U.S. market. “We are pleased to receive FAA certification for the H160, which is a testament to many years of hard work and commitment from our teams in order to deliver this multirole helicopter to the customers in North America who have already placed their…

‘Tinubu reaffirmation commendable’   The renaming of 15 airports by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu after prominent Nigerians has led to confusion as to who exactly took the glory for honouring some prominent citizens with some aerodromes across the country. It would be recalled that two days before former President Muhammadu Buhari left office, news broke that the former President had indeed re-named the Akure Airport after Dr Bernard Olumuyiwa Aliu, a former President of the…

    The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has exonerated itself from the skyrocketing airfares in Nigeria, attributing the exchange rate applied to international flight tickets sold in Nigeria as the reason for the high cost of fares from Nigeria. It also noted that fares are not determined by IATA, saying that it is incorrect to describe them as the “IATA exchange rate”. The clearing house for over 290 international airlines disclosed that airfares for…

‘New monetary policy to solve airlines’ $800 million trapped funds’   The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the clearing house for over 290 global airlines would from Wednesday quote ticket prices at N770/$1. The implication is that airfares on international routes would jump astronomically by over 50 percent. A top official of a West Coast airline who pleaded anonymity told Aviation Metric, “Please, be informed that the IATA rate of Exchange (IROE) will increase from…

How once flourishing Nigerian carrier mismanaged fortune Corporation set up four-man resolution team   The struggle by the founder of Arik Air, Sir Arumemi Johnson-Ikhide to reclaim his airline may have hit the rocks. Arik Air was in 2016 taken over by the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) over reported N300b debts. As a first step, John-Ikhide had on May 18, 2022, written a letter to AMCON seeking to recover his airlines taken over…

New interline increases Emirates’ footprint to 148 African points   Emirates and Kenya Airways (KQ) have announced an interline partnership that will allow customers of both airlines access to new destinations on the two airlines’ networks within a single itinerary. The agreement will provide customers with increased travel options as well as seamless baggage check-in to their final destination. Emirates customers will now be able to fly to 28 destinations on the Kenya Airways network…

Advices airlines to merge to form strong flag carriers       President of Aviation Safety Round Table (ASRT) Dr. Gabriel Olowo has called for a private sector-driven airline urging that government should not try in any way to involve itself completely in a new national carrier just as the expert threw his weight behind a national airline for Nigeria. In his advice to the new administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu tagged, “National Carrier…

Welcomes probe, flays airlines, Nnaji, others for conspiracy to truncate carrier   Former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika has opened up on the controversies that trailed the Nigeria Air project, saying that only N5billion was made available for the project contrary to insinuation in some quarters that N85 billion was ‘squandered’ on the proposed carrier. The Minister had come under fire and scrutiny for the way and manner the national carrier project was pursued with…

President of the Aviation Round Table (ART), a body of different professionals in Nigeria’s aviation sector, Dr. Gabriel Olowo has called on the Federal government to consider the barter arrangement option for settling the $812.2 million of the foreign airlines trapped in Nigeria. Olowo’s position is coming days after the Director General of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Willie Walsh declared Nigeria as the highest indebted country to foreign airlines.       The…