Aviation

Leading Nigeria’s logistics company, Red Star Express Plc has entered into a partnership with Arik Air as the General Sales Agent (GSA). This was announced during a recent official chat with the Chief Operating Officer of Red Star Freight, Mudiaga Okumagba, at the company’s headquarters. According to him, the partnership is expected to enhance Red Star Express’ cargo movement across Nigeria from any location and at any time of the day. “We are happy with…

IATA survey indicates passengers want Biometrics The survey taken by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) showed clearly that passengers want to use biometric identification if it expedites travel processes and wants to spend less time queuing. IATA announced the results of its 2021 Global Passenger Survey (GPS), which delivered the verdict. “Passengers have spoken and want technology to work harder, so they spend less time ‘being processed’ or standing in queues. And they are…

  Fuel price up 60% in 11 months   The over 60 percent rise in the price of aviation fuel, otherwise known as JET A1, has continued to put airlines on the edge, just as the cost of operating a one-hour flight is equally rising and has made nonsense of average fares charged by airlines. Many airlines have been voicing concerns about the impact of rising fuel costs – airlines’ largest operating cost item –…

Falana writes Minister, calls for firms’ disqualification to save process A legal firm, Falana and Falana’s Chambers has petitioned the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika to disqualify TAV Consortium, GMR Consortium, and Airport De Paris (ADP), three of the bidders for the concession of the nation’s four major airports for alleged violation of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (Est.) Act 2005 and The National Policy on Public-Private Partnership (N4P). The four major airports slated for concession…

Emirates has reduced its half-year-loss and is “well on the recovery path with healthy revenue and a solid cash balance at the end of our first half of 2021-22”, it reported on November 10. The Dubai-airline group reported a net loss of AED 5.7 billion ($1.6 billion) compared to AED 14.1 billion between April and September 2020. Group EBITDA improved to AED 5.6 billion from AED -43 million. Group revenues including dnata were up to AED…

 A staff of Ari Air has been apprehended for soliciting a bribe from a traveller at the domestic wing of the Lagos airport by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). Extortion by airline staff and security operatives has become one of the major concerns of the authority as it has promised to arrest any security official and airline officials soliciting bribes, an action that destroys the image of the country. This is coming as…

Flight 086 shattered my dream-Capt Okon Nov 7, sad reminder of my husband’s death-Uloma Afonja   Twenty-five years after losing their breadwinners, loved ones in ADC Flight 086 inside the Itoikin River near Ikorodu, the pain is still very deep, the scare is still very visible as some families of victims of the 144 passengers and crew converged on the bank of the river where a cenotaph was erected to offer prayers. The sleepy Itoikin town…

Int’l travel returns to the US, Nov 8   As the U.S. re-opens to fully vaccinated international travelers, Delta Air Lines is reuniting families and friends who have been kept apart for the past 20 months. In the six weeks since the U.S reopening was announced, Delta has seen a 450% increase in international point-of-sale bookings versus the six weeks prior to the announcement. Many international flights are expected to operate 100% full on Monday,…

  Airlink, the privately owned Southern African regional airline, will implement a company-wide programme involving training, new processes and supply chain interventions to identify and combat illicit wildlife trade. The illegal wildlife trade is valued between $50-150 billion (approximately between ZAR730 billion – ZAR2,19 trillion at current exchange rates) per year and is one of the five most lucrative global crimes. Illegal killing and trading of wild animals is a global crisis, with species being…

AIB’s N645 million training school 95 percent completed     The House of Representatives Committee on Aviation chaired by Honourable Nnolim Nnaji has applauded two aviation agencies, Air Accidents Investigation Bureau, (AIB) and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, (NIMET) for their 2021 budget performances. The committee gave the commendation during an oversight inspection visit to the agencies’ offices and their projects’ sites at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja on Tuesday. The oversight team led by the…