Aviation

Many years ago, African airlines dominated the skies of Africa. Gross mismanagement and corruption saw the end of promising airlines like Nigeria Airways, Ghana Airways, Air Afrique, and others that connected the continent. Worried by the situation, leaders in the continent have continued to pursue the revival of national airlines despite the turbulence occasioned by COVID-19 and the serious financial dire straits the airline industry is confronted with. Bitter-sweet topsy turvy African airlines Aside from that, many African state-owned airlines have…

United Airlines Ventures (UAV) announced today it, along with Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) and Mesa Airlines, has invested in electric aircraft startup Heart Aerospace. Heart Aerospace is developing the ES-19, a 19-seat electric aircraft that has the potential to fly customers up to 250 miles before the end of this decade. In addition to UAV’s investment, United Airlines has conditionally agreed to purchase 100 ES-19 aircraft, once the aircraft meet United’s safety, business and operating requirements. Mesa…

Trade between nations totaled $10.4b in 2019   United States based airline,Delta Air Lines has returned its operations at Lagos’s Murtala Muhammed International Airport to pre-pandemic levels. This comes as the carrier launches nonstop service between the capital and New York-JFK four times a week. Before now, the airline operated daily flights between its base in Atlanta to Lagos, as it is the sole airline from Nigeria that operates direct flights to Lagos, Nigeria from Atlanta, Georgia….

Kenya Airways PLC (KQ)  today launched the Fahari Innovation Hub, a centre for innovation that acts as a springboard for new ideas and data-driven innovations to accelerate impact-driven solutions that address some of the societal and business challenges.  The Fahari Innovation Hub is part of KQ’s strategy in contributing to the sustainable development of Africa by empowering, partnering, and co-creating innovative ideas and strategies with local start-ups and the small-medium enterprises (SMEs) ecosystem.  Speaking during…

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is inviting nominations for the 2021 Diversity and Inclusion Awards. “The COVID-19 pandemic has not stopped the aviation industry’s agenda on diversity and inclusion. In fact, it has been an opportunity to redouble our efforts to improve our performance. Improving our gender balance, in particular, is a top priority as seen by the growing number of signatories to the IATA 25by2025 pledge. The second edition of the IATA Diversity and…

Despite the depreciating value of Naira, aviation ground handling firms’ charges in Nigeria are said to be the lowest in the world; a situation, operators said was no longer sustainable. Thorough analytical study shows that Nigeria offers the lowest ground handling rate in West Africa in comparison to Ghana, Cameroon, Senegal and other Francophone airports. Consequently, stakeholders are meeting with a view to arriving at what would be the appropriate pricing for the same services…

  Minister Presents Concept Note to NUC The quest by the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Aviation, to establish an Aviation and Aerospace University has been boosted by the assurance of the National Universities Commission (NUC) to expedite action on the concept document submitted by the Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika. Executive Secretary, National University Commission, Professor Abubakar Adamu Rasheed who gave the assurance after receiving the note from the Minister, said the commission…

Nigerian carriers in limbo, Jet A1 rises to N320/litres       It has been a while ago since airlines have complained of oil prices, but that is about to change.  Jet fuel prices are on the rise again, notably since May, and continuing to rise through June into the third quarter.  Meanwhile, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the clearing house for more than 290 global airlines, has warned that oil prices will cast…

  The Accident Investigation Bureau, Nigeria (AIB-N) has commenced the provision of technical support for the setting up of the Sierra Leone Aircraft Accident Incident Investigation Bureau (SL-AAIIB). This was marked by the conclusion of a recent two-day fact-finding mission to the Sierra Leone Aircraft Accident Incident Investigation Bureau (SL-AAIIB) by the Accident Investigation Bureau, Nigeria (AIB-N). This is the second time AIB-N will be assisting member countries in the sub region to establish their…