News

Taking a flight between cities in different African countries is often expensive and circuitous. WOLE SHADARE highlights the impediments to travel and tourism in the continent   Bitter-sweet Although, no Visas are required today for West African citizens to travel from one country to another, major travel impediments remain. Air transport in particular, and transport infrastructure generally, remain, to date, the biggest challenges for travel and tourism development in Africa in general and for West Africa, in particular. Fortunately,…

   Sector’s input to GDP rises to 0.6% Adhering to aviation roadmap would help to resolve many of the problems confronting Nigeria’s aviation industry, Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has said. He said this in a paper made available to Woleshadarenews in Lagos. Specifically, he said on assumption of duty in November, 2015 an appraisal of the sector was undertaken with many challenges identified. He listed the challenges as inadequate safety, security and surveillance equipment,…

Passengers are to pay more in Passenger Service Charges (PSC) if the proposed increment receives the nod of Federal Government. The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had proposed increment for the PSC and supported three aviation unions in the country. FAAN has proposed an upward review of the current PSC which was last done eight years ago. The new PSC regime is expected to take effect from January 2019. The general secretary of National…

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo heads the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC). At the core of PEBEC’s mandate is improving the ease of doing business in Nigeria by proving to foreign investors that Nigeria is really a cool place to do business. However, two testimonies from celebrities and a couple of others from members of the public, should leave Osinbajo and PEBEC very worried and embarrassed. Nigerian actor, Aremu Afoloyan ranted on how he was asked…

 Al-Qahtani Aviation, owner of SaudiGulf Airlines, has signed an agreement to purchase ten A320neo family aircraft. The commitment was announced today at the Bahrain International Airshow, which runs untill the 16th November 2018.                                                                                                   SaudiGulf Airlines currently operate a fleet of six A320 aircraft from their hub in Dammam. The carrier commenced operations in 2016 serving domestic destinations across the Kingdom prior to expanding to international routes. In October 2018 the airline launched its second international destination…

Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO) Plc said it has consistently recorded 4.43 per cent annual revenue growth since 2009 when the company was privatised. SAHCOL also said that its import warehouse could accommodate about three million tonnage of cargo monthly with six freezers and refrigerators at its warehouses. SAHCO also called on the Federal Government to intervene in the current handling charges imposed on foreign carriers in the country, saying that the ground handling companies…

.. Holds AGM Members of the National Association of Air Traffic Engineers (NAAE) have called for the training of its personnel in the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency NAMA to enable them get licensed. The President of the NAAE Engr Ishaya Dung while heralding the association’s Annual General Meeting said a large number of Air Traffic Engineers engineers in NAMA were yet to be licensed as a result of lack of training associated with paucity of…

Tel Aviv based ARKIA Israeli Airlines which is majority owned by Jordache Enterprises, has taken delivery of its first A321LR becoming the launch operator of the world’s most flexible and capable large single aisle aircraft ever.   The A321LR is the latest version of the best-selling A321 Family and allows operators the flexibility to fly Long Range (LR) operations of up to 4,000nm (7,400km) and to tap into new long haul markets, which were not previously accessible with…

Most of the airlines in Nigeria jostle and compete for the triangular market of Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt considered to be the money spinner for operators. But concentration on this route has eroded other routes’ development, WOLE SHADARE writes   The clincher The triangular route of Lagos, Abuja and Port-Harcourt seems to be clincher for big Nigerian airlines. But his triangular market has also led to saturation of the popular route; thereby becoming a…