FEATURES Archives - Page 4 of 35

Air Finance: Breaking the African risk premium

Posted on March 17, 2026March 17, 2026 by Wole Shadare

With the AfDB and Afreximbank acting as the first loss guarantors, the private sector is finally finding the courage to invest in African skies, writes WOLE SHADARE For decades, the story of African aviation has been written in red ink, hampered by a risk premium that forced local carriers to pay up to 25% more for aircraft than their global peers. But as of March 2026, the script is being rewritten. A new, continent-wide financial policy…

T1: Dragging 47-year-old facility into digital age

Posted on March 10, 2026March 10, 2026 by Wole Shadare

The completion of the modernisation project at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) won’t be merely an aesthetic upgrade; it will be a fundamental shift in Nigeria’s aviation strategy. By integrating the existing Terminal 2 (T2) with a completely rebuilt Terminal 1 (T1), the government aims to create a unified super-hub capable of handling 17.6 million passengers annually, writes WOLE SHADARE For decades, the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) has stood as a symbol of Nigerian…

Iran/Israeli Crossfire: Triggering ricochet effect in airlines’ boardrooms

Posted on March 3, 2026March 3, 2026 by Wole Shadare

The war’s ricochet effect is being felt in boardrooms from Atlanta to Tokyo, from the Gulf Region to Africa. Jet fuel prices have surged by 8% in 48 hours, and global cargo supply chains, already strained, are bracing for a massive backlog of high-value electronics and perishables usually moved through Gulf hubs, writes WOLE SHADARE For decades, the midnight rush at Dubai International Airport (DXB) was the heartbeat of global travel—a synchronised ballet of A380S ferrying…

Why Africa’s ‘Open Skies’ Remain Locked in the Hangar

Posted on February 24, 2026February 24, 2026 by Wole Shadare

The message from the industry is clear: Africa no longer needs more signatures; it needs schedules. Without enforcement mechanisms to hold non-compliant signatories accountable, SAATM risks becoming another paper tiger in a continent desperate for connectivity, writes WOLE SHADARE For nearly a decade, the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) has been hailed as the holy grail of African aviation—a flagship project of the AU’s Agenda 2063 designed to dismantle the restrictive bilateral walls that…

United Nigeria Airlines: Turning Dream into Reality

Posted on February 17, 2026February 17, 2026 by Wole Shadare

The story of United Nigeria Airlines is a microcosm of the Nigerian spirit—resilient, ambitious, and unyieldingly optimistic. Its mission is to connect the Nigerian diaspora to their roots and the Nigerian economy to the world, writes WOLE SHADARE In the volatile landscape of African aviation, the five-year mark is often a precarious milestone. Yet for United Nigeria Airlines (UNA), February 12, 2026, marks the moment a domestic dream is turning out to be a global…

Africa’s aviation caught in ‘profitless’ growth cycle

Posted on February 10, 2026 by Wole Shadare

The phrase “more passengers” has become a bitter pill for many African airline owners. While a 6.0% surge in traffic sounds like a success story, the underlying economics of the continent act as a profit siphon, ensuring that most of that revenue never reaches the bottom line, writes WOLE SHADARE Africa’s aviation industry is defined by a striking paradox: it is home to some of the world’s fastest-growing traffic demand, yet it remains the least profitable…

Green Africa in rebuilding phase, acquires second ATR72-600 airplane, partners Access Bank

Posted on February 4, 2026 by Wole Shadare

In a significant move for Nigeria’s aviation landscape, Green Africa has followed up on its 2025 milestone by adding a second aircraft to its fleet, further solidifying its “rebuilding” phase and its unique partnership with Access Bank. This acquisition marks a deliberate departure from the volatile leasing models that caused operational disruptions for the carrier in early 2025. By owning its assets, Green Africa is positioning itself as a more stable, “value” carrier with a…

Cargo charge disinformation, intimation, a threat to national reform

Posted on February 4, 2026 by Wole Shadare

The standoff between the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and cargo agents has escalated beyond a mere fiscal dispute into a volatile conflict involving allegations of disinformation, intimidation, and sabotage of national reform efforts. As of February 4, 2026, the situation at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA) in Lagos is characterised by a “down tools” action by agents and a rigid enforcement stance by the Authority. But when one scrapes away the emotional rhetoric…

Prospects, Issues, Concerns over Enugu Airport concession

Posted on February 3, 2026February 3, 2026 by Wole Shadare

This project is being viewed as the litmus test for the government’s broader plan to concession the “Big Four” airports (Lagos, Abuja, Kano, and Port Harcourt), writes WOLE SHADARE The concession of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA) in Enugu has generated various issues and has reached a critical juncture. The recent signing of the Enugu Airport concession has brought the long-standing debate over Nigerian airport concessions into sharp focus. Just days ago, the Federal Government…

Tweaking FAAN’s cargo tariffs after two decades

Posted on January 30, 2026 by Wole Shadare

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) is set to implement a significant tariff adjustment effective February 2, 2026. This move, which includes a notable 257% increase in cargo charges, is framed by the authority as a vital step toward financial self-sufficiency and infrastructure modernisation. The agency’s expensive operational costs include runway, maintenance, airfield lighting, staff training and recurrent certification, environmental management (in line with ISO 14001 and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO standards),…

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