Business

 The perennial scarcity of aviation fuel yesterday led to stranding of passengers as marketers raised the price of the commodity from between N114 and N116 to between N150, N160 and N170 per litre depending on the location. In Lagos, aviation fuel, otherwise known as JET A1, goes for N150 per litre, while it costs N160 and N170 in Abuja and Kano respectively. Consequently, passengers across the country’s airports were left stranded as airlines rescheduled their…

In its constant quest to provide better and more efficient services and to consolidate its position as the pacesetter in the Nigerian aviation industry, Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), operator of Murtala Muhammed Airport Two (MMA2), Lagos, has announced the appointment of Captain Jari O. Williams as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The appointment comes as the Management of BASL seeks to consolidate the company’s sterling achievements and reposition as a world class template, even…

Commissioner, Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has called for increase in Ticket Sales Charge (TSA) of what it collect to ten per cent from three per cent, adding that paucity of funds has prevented the agency from carrying out its duties as a responsible accident investigator. The Federal Government statutorily gives five per cent of total revenue made on tickets to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian…

The global shift has now moved from Bilateral Air Services Agreements (BASA) to air liberalisation in Africa and 21 nations out of 44 countries are already catching the bug, WOLE SHADARE writes The debate This has been the argument. If every nation in the world had an air services agreement with every other nation, it would take about 12,500 bilateral agreements to blanket the globe. Now there are just over 4,000, but that is still…

The Managing Director of Tarzan Marine Enterprises, Mr. Ganiyu Balogun has accused the Lagos State Government through the state’s waterway authority of attempting to put the company’s N5 billion investments in jeopardy. Balogun, who spoke in Lagos accused the Lagos State Waterway Authority (LASWA) of persistent victimisation and harassment despite fulfilling all the agreed terms before commencing ferry services in the state in 2004. Balogun alleged that LASWA officials without recourse to the existing agreement…

Aviation security expert, Group Capt. John Ojikutu (rtd) has charged the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to draw up standards for Jet-A1 quality assurance, starting with the transportation vehicles type or profile; supply and trucking systems; storage and dispensing systems. He stated that at the moment, vehicles supplying aviation fuel, otherwise known as Jet-A1 are not sufficiently distinct from those supplying other petroleum products. Ojikutu disclosed that the consequence of all these development could result…

Performance of the African aviation industry is still lagging behind. A twin problem of costs and safety make air travel impossible to navigate. WOLE SHADARE writes It was predicted that over the period 2010-2015, Africa will be the third fastest-growing region in the world in terms of international traffic with an average growth rate of 6.1 per cent compared to the global average of 5.8 per cent and 7.9 per cent and 6.9 per cent…

Notwithstanding the harsh economic reality, the classification of Nigeria as high yield and mixed income route would continue to make foreign carriers flourish. Managing Director of a leading airline, who preferred anonymity, expressed the view. He said that the pulling out of Iberia from the route was not because it is not lucrative, explaining that the European airline hadn’t built the type of capacity created over the years by airlines such as British Airways, Air…

The Director-General of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Tony Tyler said progress to achieve Single European Sky (SES) has been frustratingly slow. Tyler made the disclosure today at the European Aviation Club in Brussels, Belgium.  He noted that over those four years, failure to achieve SES has cost European competitiveness at least EUR 20 billion, lamenting that the environment has suffered many millions of tonnes of unnecessary carbon emissions.   His words, “We cannot…

WOLE SHADARE writes that it is often more convenient and faster to fly from a city in West Africa via London, Paris and back to a neighbouring city in West Africa, than to travel direct While many air markets between Africa and countries outside of Africa have been liberalised to a significant extent, most intra-African aviation markets remain largely closed due to restrictive bilateral agreements, which limit the growth and development of air services.  …