Aviation

Almost three years since the fatal accident of one of its Boeing MAX 8s, Ethiopian Airlines plans to bring the aircraft back into service from February 2022. The airline is now confident of the safety of the fleet, CEO Tewolde GebreMariam says in a message on Facebook. Elsewhere, the Indonesian regulators have approved the MAX to return to service. Ethiopian plans to resume MAX services in February. When Ethiopian flight ET302 crashed six minutes after takeoff from…

  Transit passengers also affected, suspension takes effect Saturday   The United Arab Emirates (UAE) have again thrown inbound and outbound Nigerian travelers into a fresh round of travel chaos as the UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Emergency Management Authority (NCEMA) and the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) have suspended entry for passengers from Nigeria and three other African countries. The other nations affected are Tanzania, Kenya, and Ethiopia. The new travel rule has…

Infected people roam about instead of isolation-FAAN cries out The Federal Airports of Nigeria (FAAN) has frowned at passengers who still turn up for flights at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, and other airports despite testing positive for COVID-19. The passengers even with PCR test results that show that they are positive for the virus are said to want to fly. Airlines are said to be turning them back in line with the Nigerian…

The management of the airline said it took the action because the pilots embarked on illegal strike action without recourse to lay down procedures. In a statement by the carrier early Thursday, it said the pilots did not serve a strike notice in accordance with labour laws. They neither submitted any issue of dispute to the National Association of Airline Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), their umbrella union nor did they submit any statement of demands…

The Director-General of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Musa Nuhu said the face-off between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that has led to flight suspension between both nations is being handled by the Foreign Affairs Ministry, stressing that the country was still holding strong to its position.  He disclosed that he was aware that the Foreign Affairs Ministry had written to the UAE’s Foreign Ministry with a view to knowing where to…

FAAN suspends airfield officer, begins probe     For providence, the country would have recorded an air accident on the domestic airport runway, otherwise known as 18L of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos. A pick-up vehicle belonging to the civil department of FAAN was reported to have developed some electrical fault and since they didn’t have anyone to effect repairs, the officials resorted to inviting an auto electrician from outside the airport. In between his…

More than two weeks after Arik pilots foiled an attempt by unknown men to tamper with its aircraft hold while on hold, a similar incident occurred on Sunday night to one of the airline’s aircraft, a B737-800. In a mandatory occurrence report form: O-OPS07 logged in by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), which was sighted by Aviation Metric, the incident to the aircraft with registration, 5N-MJQ happened on  Sunday at 20.07. However, our correspondent…

The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has commenced the implementation of Free Routing Airspace (FRA) in keeping with its commitment to enhancing airspace efficiency and reducing operational costs to airlines.  Giving this indication at a stakeholders’ sensitization forum which held at Sheraton Lagos Hotel, Ikeja, Managing Director of NAMA, Capt. Fola Akinkuotu said Nigeria had earlier in October 2021 notified the global aviation community of its intent to commence the implementation of the Free Routing…

… may revert to quarantine There are strong indications that the United Kingdom may rescind its travel ban on Nigeria and revert to a return of quarantine for countries on the Red List particularly Nigerians before the December 20 date for the review of the list. The review could see Nigerians travelling undergo quarantine in their chosen hotels or homes rather than the current situation where travellers, especially British nationals, are subjected to a 10-day…

In a fresh twist  to the diplomatic row between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Nigeria, the UAE has rejected the directive from Nigeria that puts on hold Emirates flights suspension while restricting the carrier to one weekly light to Abuja, The carrier, in a statement, said Emirates will be completely suspending its flights between Nigeria and Dubai until the Civil Aviation Authorities from both countries find a solution to the current ongoing issue. According…