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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has called on European Union and North American governments to resolve a looming crisis for the EU–US/Canada visa waiver program. Today, most EU citizens can visit the US and Canada without having to apply for a visa, with US and Canadian citizens being granted similar visa-free access to EU states. Canada and the US, however, require nationals from some EU states to obtain visas. Canada requires visas for nationals…

  Foreign airlines’ blocked funds in Nigeria rises to $591m, says IATA DG   Wole Shadare, Dublin Foreign airlines’ blocked funds in Nigeria have risen to $591million. This new figure was given today by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) at its on-going 72nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) holding in Dublin, Ireland. The clearing house for over 250 airlines also listed other countries where airlines are having difficulties repatriating their funds. The countries are Venezuela…

 By our correspondent who is in Dublin The outgoing Director-General and CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Tony Tyler has assured that global airlines would soon return to profitability, adding that airlines are engines of prosperity. He started that they have long struggled to turn a profit and reward investors, adding, “That is beginning to change.” Overall, despite generally adverse economic conditions, it is a good time for the air transport industry. In…

*LATAM, Lufthansa latest carriers to pull out of Caracas By our correspondent in Dublin LATAM Airline Group  and Lufthansa have become the latest carriers to scrap flights to Venezuela amid the continued challnges of repatriating revenues earned in the country. LATAM Airlines Brazil affiliate has withdrawn flights between Caracas and Sao Paulo and at the end of July, LATAM will pull service between Lima and Caraca and service on its Santiago-Guayaquil-Caracas route. The airline cites…

Poor service delivery despite huge taxes accruing from levies may have forced the Federal Government to privatise four of the big airports in Nigeria. Experts have, however, warned of pitfalls if the process is not well managed, writes WOLE SHADARE   The plot The disclosure by the Federal Government to privatise some of the country’s aerodromes could have been helped by its disappointment over growing concern of the state of Nigerian airports and the need…

To optimize their joint network between the United States and the United Kingdom, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic announced changes to their respective summer 2017 schedules.   The move reflects the strong partnership between the two airlines, which is focused on offering customers more travel choices and flexibility. The joint venture partnership between Delta and Virgin Atlantic continues to grow, allowing both airlines’ customers to benefit from a high-quality and complementary travel experience with…

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced global passenger traffic data for April showing that demand (measured in total revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) rose by 4.6 per cent–the slowest pace since January 2015. April capacity (available seat kilometers or ASKs) increased by 4.9 per cent, and load factor slipped 0.3 percentage points to 79.1 per cent. For African airlines, traffic climbed 9.9 per cent in April. Capacity rose 11.1 per cent, with the…

The withdrawal of categories of fares was what triggered what people referred to as increase in airfares, international airlines operating to Nigeria have said. The carriers’ top officials, who spoke to woleshadare.net but craved anonymity, however, stated that the fluctuating naira exchange rate against the dollars made them to restrict fares to just one category, just as they refuted insinuations that the firms increased airfares. They noted that only a clear policy on foreign exchange would…