FEATURES Archives - Page 7 of 34

Unserved routes: Can Pan-African airline group plug the gaps?

Posted on May 20, 2025May 20, 2025 by Wole Shadare

While pan-African airline, Air Afrique, is no longer with us, the current aviation market is dominated by non-African airlines. WOLE SHADARE writes that the continent’s carriers can synergise to fill the gap to provide efficient air transportation Slow pace Africa is a rapidly growing continent with a population of well over a billion. Its landmass is around three times larger than Europe’s and is home to some of the planet’s most packed conurbations. Despite an extraordinary population surge over…

Bird Strikes: The Dangers, Consequences

Posted on May 13, 2025May 13, 2025 by Wole Shadare

The predicaments of airlines are mounting and further exacerbated by the high recurrence of bird strikes, writes WOLE SHADARE Challenges Bird strikes are one of the challenges facing airlines, especially during the rainy seasons. In Nigeria, bird strikes occur at all times. Although the amount of money spent by airlines to repair their aeroplanes is unknown, experts put the figure at over N20 billion annually. A bird strike—sometimes called bird ingestion, birds hit, or bird aircraft…

Nigeria Airlines’ Manifest Shambolic Service Delivery

Posted on May 6, 2025 by Wole Shadare

Poor service delivery by airlines in Nigeria has reached alarming levels, with indiscriminate rescheduling of flights being a major issue, writes WOLE SHADARE Bad reputation Virtually all the airlines in the country seem to be slugging it out for competition for the most egregious offender in flight rescheduling and poor service delivery. Very few offer a modicum of good service while majority of them do not care about the terrible service they deliver…

Time to address embarrassingly low intra-African air connectivity

Posted on April 29, 2025 by Wole Shadare

Air travel plays a critical role in fostering economic growth, regional integration, and connectivity, yet its demand dynamics in Africa remain underexplored, writes WOLE SHADARE Africa’s transport system is characterised by limited connectivity and underdeveloped infrastructure in many areas, which has historically constrained mobility. However, recent trends reveal a remarkable shift, with air travel demand experiencing a negligible increase, underscoring the continent’s emerging potential within the global aviation market. The continent’s transportation network encompasses a…

Enugu Airport: Jinxed runway in search of solution

Posted on April 22, 2025April 22, 2025 by Wole Shadare

The continued closure of Enugu airport for constant repairs has raised concerns about the sincerity of permanently fixing the problem. It remains a mystery how this runway was fully rebuilt twice in ten years, 2009 and 2019, with the same mistakes made twice to rectify a simple engineering problem that has cost airlines, passengers and the airport authority lost time and revenue, writes WOLE SHADARE Fresh closure The Akanu Ibiam International Airport was closed to traffic…

Q1 2025: Delays, cancellations still set aviation backward

Posted on April 10, 2025April 10, 2025 by Wole Shadare

The aviation industry in first quarter 2025 has not done too badly, but the twin monsters of flight delays and cancellations including high number of lost baggage which continued unabated, have continued to put the sector in a very precarious situation, writes, WOLE SHADARE Slow start The aviation industry in first quarter 2025 started rather slowly for obvious reasons. It is expected that after the last quarter of the previous year, the next quarter in aviation…

Beyond the ‘disputed’ traffic figure

Posted on April 8, 2025 by Wole Shadare

Data and statistics are crucial for gauging airline performance as they provide insights into key areas like operational efficiency, customer satisfaction, and financial health, enabling airlines to make informed decisions and improve their services. Recent data/statistics said to emanate from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has generated controversy from airlines that based their misgivings solely on the omission of certain number of flights done without reflecting accurately on their in-house figure. Simply put, a…

A look into Nigeria’s plummeting aviation market

Posted on April 1, 2025April 1, 2025 by Wole Shadare

Nigeria’s aviation market is fast receding. The country’s airlines are feeling the pain. The lack of strong airlines has not helped them. The policies are not helping and they find themselves in a big conundrum writes, WOLE SHADARE Decline Nigeria’s international and domestic passenger traffic after COVID has continued to show a remarkable decline. Other factors like low disposable income occasioned by economic recession in most countries of the world, particularly Nigeria and the predatory nature…

A rash of BASA, commercial agreements amid airlines’ absence

Posted on March 25, 2025 by Wole Shadare

There has been flurry of activities recently around Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) Nigeria has with many countries. While the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo has been very busy inking new deals or reviewing existing ones, the status-quo remains. Where are the airlines from Nigeria to reciprocate these one-sided agreements? Nigerian carriers are secondary operators because there are no airlines to reciprocate these deals. It is a case of a case of pitting…

Developing Nigeria’s aviation local content policy with ‘Fly Nigeria Act’

Posted on March 18, 2025March 18, 2025 by Wole Shadare

Despite the pressure of globalization, the Nigerian Government is ensuring that businesses in Nigeria remain competitive. One key area that government is showing key interest in is the ‘Fly Nigeria Act’. The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo is pushing for it, stakeholders are interested in it. Time is ticking, writes, WOLE SHADARE Local content push The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo has shown serious commitment to involving huge local…

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