Business

Saliva test can detect symptomatic, asymptomatic individuals with virus Trial to be conducted by flight, cabin crew   British Airways is the first airline in the world to conduct a trial with medical tech company Canary Global, to assess how its Pelican Covid-19 Ultra Rapid Covid-19 test, which displays a result within 25 seconds, can play a role in opening up travel. The airline will be inviting flight and cabin crew to take the Pelican…

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has warned that proposals by AENA to increase user charges at the 46 airports it operates across Spain could damage Spain’s economic and employment recovery from COVID-19. The proposals presented to the DGAC for approval include a request to increase charges by 5.5% over five years. They would also open the door for AENA to recover its lost revenues due to the COVID-19 crisis, for services which were never…

A former Director-General of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr. Harold Demuren, has called for domestic clearing house for airlines willing to interline and codeshare, an arrangement that is similar to what the International Air Transport Association (IATA) is doing with over 290 global airlines. Demuren, at the quarterly Aviation Round Table (ART) Breakfast meeting held virtually with the theme: “Utilising Interlining and Codeshare Agreements as Tools for Domestic Airlines Profitability and Passenger Comfort,” put…

Willing to assist FG set up national carrier Africa’s most profitable airline, Ethiopian Airlines has concluded plans to resume international flight operations to the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, (AIIA) Enugu as soon the Federal Government gives the go ahead for international flights into the airport. Ethiopian Airline’s Traffic and Sales Manager, Senait  Ataklet who led the airlines’ team  on a courtesy visit to the Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Aviation,  Nnolim Nnaji in his…

Air Cairo, Egypt’s low-fare airline, has taken delivery of its first A320neo aircraft. The new aircraft will join Air Cairo’s all Airbus fleet of seven aircraft.  The aircraft is on lease from ICBC Leasing and is equipped with CFM LEAP-1A engines.  With improved levels of efficiency, the new aircraft will be deployed on Air Cairo’s regional and international network to serve countries across Europe, Africa and the Middle East – demonstrating the operational flexibility of…

With the growing demand for travel pass and other measures to improve the safety of travellers Ethiopian Airlines has installed Rapid Testing Devices at its hub. This enables transit passengers to test and get the result before they get on their flights. The airline has joined hands with BGI Health Ethiopia, a subsidiary of China’s biotech giant, the BGI Genomics Co., Ltd, to launch high-end COVID-19 testing laboratory at its main hub and the continent’s…

  Significant portion of $3.5tr GDP, 88 million jobs at risk Slow vaccination rate in Africa limits int’l travel   The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has estimated that the airline industry is expected to lose $47.7 billion in 2021 (net profit margin of -10.4%), adding that this is an improvement on the estimated net industry loss of $126.4 billion in 2020 (net profit margin of -33.9%). Director-General of the clearing house for over 290…

Restarts Nelspruit-Livingstone route   Airlink, the independent Southern African regional airline, will expand its network next month with the launch of its Johannesburg-Livingstone flights, providing travellers with direct access to one of Southern Africa’s most popular tourist attractions – the Victoria Falls. The new service, which will start on May 26, 2021, strengthens the vital commercial connection between South Africa and Zambia provided by Airlink by augmenting Airlink’s daily services between its Johannesburg home base…

Narrow-bodies dominate market, wide-body deliveries slowly return Boeing delivered 14 wide-body aircraft in the first quarter of 2021, including two 787 Dreamliners, indicating a very slow return in confidence among some airlines and continued growth among air cargo carriers. But narrow-body deliveries still far outnumbered wide-bodies with airlines receiving some 63 737s from the US manufacturer. Narrow-body deliveries are likely to continue to dominate the market in 2021 as airlines remain reluctant to part with…

Various carriers across the world are looking ahead and seeking new and more effective approaches to rebuilding their airlines through code-share and interline arrangement. For the Nigerian aviation industry, the collaboration that could ensure stability of the carriers are lacking as experts in the aviation sector see code-share pacts among airlines as panacea to the trouble of connectivity, low capacity and serious flight delay currently experienced in the country’s aviation industry. To underscore the seriousness…