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Astronomical airport charges, taxes, and all other sundry fees are hampering air travel in Africa, according to Asky Airlines Commercial Director, Mr. Nowel Ngala. He stated this in Lagos over the weekend, noting that those charges and others had led to the high cost of air travel in the region. He urged African governments to come together with a view to harmonising fares and charges. His words: “This issue of fees and charges keep on…

Nigerian airlines are in financial dire straits. Their predicaments are mounting and further exacerbated by the high recurrence of bird strikes. bird strikes are one of the challenges facing airlines, especially during the rainy seasons. Although, the amount of money spent by airlines to repair their airplanes as a result of bird strikes is unknown experts put the figure at over N20 billion annually. A bird strike—sometimes called bird strike, bird ingestion, birds hit, or…

As conflicting reports continue to trail the proposed new national carrier, Nigeria Air, indications have emerged that the federal government may have finally pitched its tent with the most profitable African airline, Ethiopian Airlines as the technical partner in the packaging of the new airline. There are indications that Nigeria may have picked Africa’s biggest airline, Ethiopian Airlines as a technical partner for soon-to-be floated Nigeria Air. The Minister of Aviation, sources said had flown…

IATA puts Nigeria’s intra-Africa passengers at 1.1 million     Nigeria’s The African Airline Association (AFRAA) has met with some airline owners in Nigeria with a view to helping the carriers. The meeting focused primarily on priorities for the recovery of the airline industry, the sustainability of airlines, challenges being faced by Nigerian operators, and the establishment of a coordination mechanism between AFRAA and Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) to enhance advocacy efforts. The AFRAA…

Insurance firms earmark $1b for indigenous airlines’ cover   Despite Nigeria’s low air crashes or serious incidents, insurance firms, particularly those based overseas, still charge the country’s airline operators high insurance premiums, a situation that was attributed to the bad rating of the continent’s airlines in terms of safety. Speaking to Aviation Metric on the sidelines of two-day aviation, cargo, and export conference, tagged: “CHINET,’ held in Lagos, Director of Policy and Regulations at Nigerian…

Travel agents chide operators over exploitative fares on Nigerian routes Three million jobs at risk as airlines, agents shrink businesses Despite defraying $265 million out of the $465 million and the accumulation of more airlines debts expected to hit $1 billion if nothing is urgently done, the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA) said the exploitative fares charged Nigerian travelers by international carriers is unacceptable. This is coming as the CBN had bared international…

   Nigeria’s flag carrier airline, United Nigeria Airline is on the verge of beginning its operations to Accra, Ghana as plans are afoot to expand its operations to the West African sub-region. A report by AviationGhana stated that through diplomatic processes, the Nigerian carrier has been authorized to begin operating flights into Ghana. United Nigeria Airlines Limited, with a base at Enugu International Airport and an office in Abuja, is anticipated to finish the necessary…

A middle-aged man was apprehended and taken for interrogation after he was found on an aircraft belonging to United Nigeria Airways( UNA) in the early hours of Sunday.  The unidentified man, who according to information was unconscious, was discovered during the preflight inspection and the aircraft in question is being screened and prepared for service after the alleged stowaway was taken away A statement by Achillus Chud- Uchegbu the airline’s spokesman revealed that due to…

Carriers get one month ultimatum to pay Aviation agencies subsidising airlines     Nigerian airlines’ debts have risen to N19 billion and $.7.8 million. These are debts owed to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). Aside from debts owed to NCAA, the carriers are also said to owe the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) to the tune of N18 billion and N5 billion, respectively. These are debts…

President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the Civil Aviation Act, the Nigerian Metrological Agency, and six other bills recently passed by the National Assembly into law. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly matters (House of Representatives, Bashir Babale Illah, who disclosed this in a statement in Abuja on Monday listed the other bills signed by the President as the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria establishment bill and the Nigeria Council for Management Development…