Aviation

A $30 million African Export-Import Bank (AFREXIM) loan granted to Afrijet Airline for the failed acquisition of four airplanes and setting up of a world-class airline have become a subject of litigation between the airline, Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and Dana Airline. Consequently, the Nigerian Police have invited the Managing Director of Dana, Mr. Hathiramani Jacky Ramesh for questioning. The letter from the Nigeria Police dated March 1, 2021, sighted by Aviation Metric…

African airlines and indeed global airlines are yet to get out of the woods as the continent traffic dropped 66.1% in January, which was a modest improvement compared to a 68.8% decline recorded in December versus a year ago. January capacity contracted 54.2% versus January 2019 and load factor fell 18.4 percentage points to 52.3% according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) which announced that passenger traffic fell in January 2021, both compared to…

The new travel guidelines recently introduced by the United Kingdom to curtail the spread of deadly COVID-19 pandemic in the UK may have come late but the effect of the new rule would help to drastically reduce the scourge. The two or multiple tests now required for people entering the UK is one that Nigerian government had long handed down to people coming into Nigeria because it wanted to ensure it protects the people. Before…

Lament poor workers’ condition, insurance scheme, others The aviation unions comprising the National Union of Air Transport Union (NUATE) , Air Transport Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP) and Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) have given the management of Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) 48 hours to accede to its demands or risk industrial action. Failure to address the demands, the…

Firm to pay state N100m annual royalty Gets five years tax exemption The Delta State Government has entered into a 30 year concession agreement with FIDC-Menzies, the major concessionaire’s Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) which has been incorporated with the name, Asaba Airport Company Limited to manage the Asaba International Airport. The airport prides itself as the first privatized aerodrome in Nigeria and coming at a time there is a deafening clamour for private sector intervention…

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) on Monday flagged off the Oil and Gas Search, Rescue and Surveillance (SeRAS) Command and Control Centre in Lagos to improve safety and operational efficiency across the industry. As a result, Omni-Blu Aviation Limited, an indigenous aviation company, has partnered with the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to provide Search, Rescue and Surveillance, (SeRAS) operations to oil firms across the country. Mr Sarki Auwalu, Director, DPR who flagged off the…

More countries are giving approval to one of Boeing’s best selling aircraft, B737 MAX as the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has announced the lifting of ban on Boeing 737 Max aircraft and has been certified to operate in Nigeria’s airspace. The airplane type was grounded and prevented from operating in the nation’s airspace following the two accident involving the Boeing 737 Max aircraft. This approval is effective 12th February, 2021. Consequent upon the two…

Air Côte d’Ivoire, Ivory Coast’s flagship carrier based in Abidjan, has taken delivery of its first A320neo, becoming the first operator of the type in the West-African region. This latest generation aircraft will join Air Côte d’Ivoire’s existing Airbus fleet of six aircraft. With improved levels of efficiency, this new aircraft will be deployed on Air Côte d’Ivoire’s regional network to serve Senegal, Gabon and Cameroon. Destinations like South Africa will be added at a…

The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has lifted a near two-year ban on the Boeing 737 Max, meaning the aircraft is clear to return to service in the UAE. “Lifting the ban on the aircraft is the result of the intensive efforts by the authority’s technical committee to evaluate all the technical requirements by the US Federal Aviation Authority, Boeing and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which led the committee to identify the technical…

Airbus reported consolidated Full-Year (FY) 2020 financial results and provided guidance for 2021. “The 2020 results demonstrate the resilience of Airbus in the most challenging crisis to hit the aerospace industry. I want to thank our teams for their great achievements in 2020 and acknowledge the strong support of our Helicopters and Defence and Space businesses. I would also like to thank our customers, suppliers and partners for their loyalty to Airbus,” said Airbus Chief…