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Passenger demand to expand by 5.7% yearly –IATA Problems associated with blocked funds in Africa is yet to abate as the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said airlines’ trapped funds in Africa are an increasing problem with carriers as they are unable to repatriate their foreign currency earnings from nine African countries. Before now, Nigeria, Egypt, Angola and Sudan topped countries in the region with $2 billion revenues belonging to the carriers. In June, the…

The airlines of the Lufthansa Group — Lufthansa, Swiss International Air Lines, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings — will become even more attractive in the winter season 2017/18.   Passengers can continue to enjoy the high level of service, quality and reliability of the Lufthansa Group on countless new routes – all from Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt via Frankfurt.   In the upcoming winter flight schedule for 2017/18, the airlines will be offering…

 At least, 4,281 Nigerians were repatriated through various countries in Europe, America and even some African countries through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos alone in the first half of 2017.   Also, a total number of 691,934 travellers departed through the airport while another 560,988 travellers arrived the country within the period under review.   A document made available to Woleshadare.net through the Ministry of Interior, indicated that the deportees were divided into…

 A330neo production gears up at Airbus facilities    As Airbus prepares for the first flight of the A330-900, production of the second member of the A330neo Family, the A330-800, is well underway with the first parts advancing at Airbus sites throughout Europe.    These parts include the new increased-span wing now being equipped in Bremen (Germany) and its new composite Sharklets from KAL-ASD*, the fuselage sections in Hamburg (Germany), the new titanium pylons in Toulouse…

  The International Air Transport Association (IATA) forecasts Africa will be a market of 350 million airline passengers by 2035 and identified four priorities which must be addressed if aviation is to deliver maximum economic and social benefits for the countries on the continent.   African aviation currently supports 6.8 million jobs and contributes $72.5 billion in GDP. Over the next 20 years passenger demand is set to expand by an average of 5.7 per…

Air Peace cautions against flight disruption Air Peace has cautioned unions in the aviation sector against the reported plan to picket airlines in the country, warning that it would not sit idly by and allow anyone disrupt its flight operations or prevent its guests from flying. The airline issued the warning on the heels of media reports of a plan by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and unions in the aviation sector to picket some domestic airlines at…

  In line with its strategy of innovation for the future of vertical flight, Airbus Helicopters is developing an experimental on board image processing management system aimed at performing automatic approaches and landing in challenging conditions, as well as paving the way for future sense and avoid applications on autonomous vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) systems.   Code-named Eagle, for Eye for Autonomous Guidance and Landing Extension, this system federates the entire helicopter’s image processing functions…

  Following the commencement of their partnership, Emirates and flydubai announced that Emirates will expand its network to 29 flydubai destinations across three continents.   The new partner network, through its codeshare, will offer greater frequency and easier access to more global destinations with the advantage of connecting baggage to the final destination.    Passengers can book from October 3rd, 2017 on Emirates.com, through the Emirates Contact Centres or the travel agents network with travel…

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for global air freight markets showing that demand, measured in freight tonne kilometers (FTKs), increased by 12.1 per cent in August 2017, compared to the same period a year ago.   This was the fifth time in six months of double-digit gains on the previous year’s performance. Demand is growing at exceptional speed when compared to the five-year average growth rate of 4.4 per cent..   Freight capacity, measured…