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  Job insecurity and worse employment contracts could cause pilot shortfall in the future if profession remains unattractive, says report Pilots flying for Middle Eastern and African airlines have some of the highest stress levels in the industry and are some of the most despondent crews in the world, according to a new survey published as the pilot unemployment rate hits 30 percent. The COVID crisis has wreaked havoc across global aviation markets causing thousands…

It is no longer news that COVID-19 has had negative impacts on air travel globally. Measures like rapid tests are being carried out by airlines. Restrictions and boarder closures have been seen. Are the travel ban/ restrictions necessity or mired in politics, asks, WOLE SHADARE Off guard  The COVID-19 pandemic caught many airlines by surprised. Not a few of them predicted the huge impact border closures and restrictions would have on the burgeoning global aviation industry….

The global commercial aircraft market is dominated by two manufacturers, European conglomerate, Airbus, and Seattlebased aerospace giant, Boeing. WOLE SHADARE writes that their innovations amid stiff rivalry is helping to reshape the travel industry Race for market share Their drive to secure market share is affecting everything from which aircraft you are on, to what routes you can choose from and how many passengers you share the cabin with. The rivalry between the two is…

Poor communication in Nigeria’s airspace has continued with so much effort to stem the tide with little progress made. WOLE SHADARE highlights the consequences to poor safety in the air Efforts with little progress Although, there has been a remarkable improvement with pilot-air traffic controllers’ communication in the last few years, it is a shame that for more than 20 years, the country’s aviation is still grappling with such difficulty in 2021. The goal of…

The stepping down of Capt. Ado Sanusi from Aero Contractors last week has kept tongues wagging that government is indeed moving closer to setting up a national carrier with the aircraft pilot waiting in the wings to oversee the start-up company as events in the next few weeks would show the direction for a new airline that has taken too long to birth. WOLE SHADARE writes   Capt. Ado Sanusi leaves Aero The ‘unexpected’ resignation…

Aviation faces grim future amid COVID-19 that ravaged the sector in 2020. The year 2021 promises to see a small lift, but not yet Uhuru as the sector picks the pieces to return to profitability, writes WOLE SHADARE A year like no other The aviation industry in Nigeria like others suffered so much in 2020. It was a year COVID-19 wreaked havoc on a sector that was before now on life support and one that…

Disruptive passenger behaviour remains rare, but when it does occur the impact can be significant, writes WOLE SHADARE Global concern Loud mouthed and potentially dangerous disruptive passengers have become a major concern all over the world. The events of last week where a man, Dr. Chike Okogwu, went berserk and destroyed everything in sight that belongs to Dana Air and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) calls for retrospection into how destructive air passengers…

Aviation is the foundation of many established and emerging economies and SAATM could help stimulate Africa’s air transport market. WOLE SHADARE writes Adoption n 2015, 23 African countries, including Nigeria, adopted a declaration on the establishment of a Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) to fully implement the Yamoussoukro Decision (YD). The fear The air transport policy had come under scathing criticisms from Nigerian airline operators. They were of the view that with SAATM, the…

While it is ultimate ignominy for Airbus A380 that promised to revolutionise air travel, the B747, the final flying days of the planet’s most recognizable jetliner are approaching sooner than expected, writes WOLE SHADARE   B747, A380, aircraft to remember There’s something about the super-jumbo airplane; the size makes a difference. The pure number of passengers, even with those stairs inside the cabin leading up to the second deck that make travel on a B747…

Airlines’ protectionism hurts travellers and aviation. WOLE SHADARE writes that removing protectionist restrictions should substantially improve air travel Growth slowed by COVID-19 Africa was on the cusp of an aviation boom before COVID-19 slowed the acceleration of the continent’s projected aviation success. The continent was set to become one of the fastest growing aviation regions in the next 20 years with an annual expansion of nearly five per cent. These are still achievable depending on…