Business

Maintain separation between politics and aviation safety, IATA tells EASA   The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called on the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to maintain the critical separation between politics and aviation safety issues. The call followed the latest development in events following the incident when Ryanair FR4978 was intercepted over Belarus Airspace and forced to land in Minsk. On 2 June, EASA replaced its recommendation (Safety Information Bulletin) for European airlines to…

Launches Developed For Nigeria Motorcycles Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, today announced its reinvigorated strategy for the Nigeria market. Building on its aggressive strategy to have a robust market presence, the New Delhi (India)-headquartered company also launched a new motorcycle that is developed especially for the Nigerian market. The diversified KewalramChanrai Group is the exclusive distributor of Hero MotoCorp in Nigeria. With its extensive experience in the automotive sector spanning several…

For its track records of service excellence, Nigeria’s foremost and leading ground handling service provider, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company, NAHCO Plc, has clinched the handling contract for United State based United Airlines for the next three years. United Airlines, having voluntarily exited the Lagos airspace since 2016, is making a return in November, with NAHCO as its preferred partner, providing passenger and ground handling services. According to NAHCO’s Group Executive Director, Business Development and Commercial,…

New entrants, competition forcing down fares The Managing Director of Aero Contractors, Capt. Abdullahi Mahmood, has attributed the high cost of air fares to the difficulty in accessing foreign exchange from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as virtually all the airlines have resorted to the parallel market to meet high cost of operations, including importation of aircraft spare parts. Mahmood told Aviation Metric on the sidelines of a press briefing to announce the commencement…

Action prohibits new service, routes to the US   The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has downgraded Mexico to aviation category 2 after discovery that the country does not meet International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) safety standards. Based on its latest International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) process, the FAA thereby downgraded Mexico’s rating to Category 2 from Category.  This is big and terrible news for the Mexican airline industry. While the new rating allows Mexican airlines…

Global Credit Rating has upgraded NOVA Merchant Bank’s Long Term Issuer Rating from BBB- to BBB with a stable outlook. The reasons given for the upgrade include the Bank’s strong capitalisation, risk position, liquidity and evolving brand. The upgrade in the Bank’s rating comes shortly after Datapro recently reaffirmed the “A” rating of it’s N10 billion 7-Year Subordinated Unsecured Bond which was oversubscribed by 300% when initially issued. This achievement also follows the recent publication of…

The House of Representatives has sought for more funding of the aviation agencies to enable them cope with the increase in demands for air travel. Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Aviation, Nnolim Nnaji stated this in Abuja on Monday during an interaction between  the committee and  the heads of agencies led by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aviation, Hassan Musa. The interaction was at the instance of a motion on the urgent need to…

List factors slowing Africa’s aviation growth   Decry high taxes, poor connectivity, others     African airlines under the aegis of African Airlines Association (AFRAA) have listed imposition of taxes by governments, poor intra-Africa connectivity, high cost of jet A1 which prices is three per cent higher in Africa than in other region as some of the factors stunning the growth of the continent’s carriers. Meanwhile, the clearing house for over 290 global airlines, the…

In recognition of the strong underlying fundamentals driving its business, Datapro reaffirmed an “A” rating on the Bank’s N10 billion 7-Year Subordinated Unsecured Bond issued under its N50 billion debt issuance programme. The bond has a fixed coupon rate of 12% per annum. This achievement follows the recent publication of the Bank’s financial results for FY2020 in which it declared a profit after tax of N3.49bn in 2020 compared to N1.65bn in 2019. The Bank also…

 NCAA backs Aero pilots on aborted flight A Max Air’s Abuja bound aircraft Tuesday suffered a bird strike ten minutes after take-off at the Aminu Kano International Airport, (MAKIA), forcing the aircraft to return to Kano. Among the passengers was the Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado-Bayero. The Max Air B737 plane with registration number VM1645 which was slated for take-off 1.30 pm had about a 30 minutes delay. The aircraft later took off around 2:00…