Aviation

Another Nigerian has again put Nigeria on the African aviation map as the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) has announced the election of Adefunke Adeyemi as the new Secretary General of the Commission. The Bureau and the Secretariat of AFCAC informed AFCAC member States, International Organizations, States Partners, and all aviation and affiliated stakeholders of  Adeyemi’s as the new Secretary General of the continental body. Adeyemi’s election as the new Secretary General of AFCAC was…

Malaysia Airlines has renewed its partnership with SITA for a comprehensive upgrade that will link its global operations to its hub in Kuala Lumpur with fast, secure, and reliable network connectivity. As part of the five-year agreement, Malaysia Airlines will leverage SITA Connect specifically designed for the air transport industry, to meet the airline’s needs in and outside airports.  SITA Connect will lower connectivity costs, improve the quality of service, enable ease of access to new…

Airlines are consolidating in a bid to maximize the benefits inherent in partnership. Gone are the days when airlines try to go it alone. The harsh realities of the times carriers face are further making them look outward. Emirates and Air Canada are taking advantage of partnerships as the two carriers today signed a strategic partnership agreement that will create more options for customers when travelling on the carriers’ networks while also enhancing the customer…

Foreign airlines with $450 million trapped revenue in Nigeria have removed the lowest base fare from their price inventory and replaced it with higher ones in order to bypass the Central Bank and buy foreign currency in the parallel market. Out of the $450 million about $200 million belongs to one of the airlines (name withheld). The trapped revenue is said to be a result of a forex shortage, a sign that Nigeria is facing…

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) today announced passenger data for May 2022 showing that the recovery in air travel accelerated heading into the busy Northern Hemisphere summer travel season. African airlines had a 134.9% rise in May RPKs versus a year ago. May 2022 capacity was up 78.5% and load factor climbed 16.4 percentage points to 68.4%, the lowest among regions. The industry has returned to year-on-year traffic comparisons, instead of comparisons with the 2019…

The Federal Government is inching toward its airport concession dream as the Ministry of Aviation, disclosed that in line with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (establishment, etc.) Act, 2005 the Request for Proposals (RfP) phase of the Nigeria Airport Concessions programme (NACP), commenced on June 1, 2022, shortlisted bidders have since been notified in writing and via the transaction portal (http://www.nacp.aviation.gov.ng/). The RfP stage of the programme according to the spokesman for the Minister of…

Nigeria, Liberia, and six other countries are among the top list of African countries with high airport taxes. Others are Guinea Bissau, Senegal, Bangui, Sierra Leone, Republic of Congo, and Niger It was revealed that these airport taxes were as high as some European countries that have met stiff resistance from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Not pleased with this, the Airports Council International (ACI)’s World Director-General, Luis Felipe de Oliveira, has hit back…

Says Nigeria on brink of wrong narrative, appeals to CBN, Ministry for intervention   The National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) has expressed a deep concern over the decision by the Nigerian government to withhold foreign airlines’ $450 million funds, saying the situation poses a serious threat to the entire aviation industry. President of NANTA, Mrs. Susan Akporiaye in a statement said the carriers could resort to taking out lower inventory in the system…

Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) is working to upgrade the country’s air traffic management system, including the Safe Tower Project (STP) that was holistically done 10 years ago. The Managing Director of the agency, Mr. Mathew Lawrence Pwajok, stated that four airports, the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), and the Port-Harcourt International Airport, were the aerodromes, which control towers would be upgraded…

Liberalisation:  IATA predicts $2.7 billion aviation growth for continent     The scarcity of foreign currencies, particularly the United States dollars has led to the withholding of foreign airlines’ funds by many African countries according to IATA’s Regional Vice President Africa & Middle East, Kamil Al-Awadhi  In summary, the blocking of over $800 million in airlines funds by Nigeria, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Eritrea and Algeria, and some other African nations shows that these nations are in…