Views Archives - Aviation metric

The Banking Problem in African Skies

Posted on August 24, 2026 by Wole Shadare

There are industries in which money follows opportunity. Aviation is one of them. There are also industries in which the absence of appropriate financing prevents the opportunity from ever becoming a reality. African aviation belongs increasingly to the second category. The continent has people who want to travel, businesses that need to move, airports that want to expand, airlines that want to acquire aircraft, cargo operators that need equipment, maintenance companies that need facilities and…

IATA and Africa: What Have You Done for Me Lately?

Posted on August 17, 2026 by Wole Shadare

There is a particular question that every long-standing relationship eventually invites: What have you done for me lately? It is not necessarily always an accusation. Sometimes it is an invitation to take stock. Sometimes it is a demand for evidence. And sometimes it is simply the question asked by someone who has heard the promises for long enough and would now like to see the results. For African aviation, that question may reasonably be put to…

The full flight illusion: Why busy airlines can still lose money

Posted on August 10, 2026 by Wole Shadare

Every day, somewhere in the world, an aircraft departs with every seat occupied. The boarding gate is crowded. The departure lounge buzzes with activity. Families settle into their seats. Business travellers open their laptops. The cabin crew completes their safety demonstrations with reassuring professionalism. As the aircraft pushes back from the gate and heads towards the runway, everything appears exactly as it should. To the passenger looking through the terminal window, it is a picture…

The Tyranny of Operations

Posted on July 20, 2026 by Wole Shadare

A single delayed aircraft can trigger a chain reaction that extends far beyond the airport where the delay began. Within minutes, crews risk exceeding legal duty hours; maintenance schedules must be revised; airport slots reassigned; passenger connections missed; aircraft rotations disrupted; and recovery plans activated across multiple cities, sometimes even across multiple continents. One operational disturbance quickly becomes a network-wide challenge. Few industries demonstrate the interconnected nature of modern organisations more vividly than aviation. This…

Aviation Strike Threat: A Test of Leadership

Posted on July 12, 2026 by Wole Shadare

Institutions rarely fail dramatically. More often, they fail quietly A responsibility goes unattended. An office hesitates to act. Another institution, frustrated by the vacuum, steps into a role that was never meant to be its own. Before long, role confusion becomes a governance failure, which in turn becomes a general inconvenience to the public. The recent threat by aviation unions to take industrial action over the alleged non-remittance of statutory ticket sales charges by airlines…

Lagos Is Late to the Flying Club (Part II)

Posted on June 30, 2026 by Wole Shadare

How Lagos Should Arrive Airports, Airlines and the Future of Aviation in Africa’s Greatest City In the first part of this essay, I argued that Lagos has been somewhat tardy in joining the ranks of the flying clubs. Given that this vibrant city-state has historically led the way in innovation, commerce, governance, finance, entertainment, and infrastructure over the past half-century, its conspicuous absence from the recent surge in state aviation initiatives is indeed quite…

Lagos Is Late to the Flying Club (Part I)

Posted on June 22, 2026June 22, 2026 by Wole Shadare

There was a time in Nigeria when any new idea could be confidently attributed to Lagos, whether it had originated there, been perfected within its bounds, or was being scaled across the region. For many decades, Lagos was more than a mere state; it was a vibrant laboratory of innovation. It was where bold ideas were tested, refined, and ultimately transformed into models others eagerly sought to emulate. Lagos did not wait for the world,…

Flight is an Organised Achievement

Posted on June 16, 2026June 16, 2026 by Wole Shadare

The invention of flight was one of humanity’s greatest achievements, yet the organisation of the flight is even greater. History often highlights moments of invention, celebrating breakthroughs, discoveries, and the pioneers who proved that the impossible can become possible. These instances merit recognition because they push the limits of human potential and show that imagination, curiosity, and persistence can change the world. However, history can also be misleading. Focusing solely on inventions might cause us…

Why Nigeria Must Turn Airports Into Engines of Growth

Posted on June 8, 2026June 8, 2026 by Wole Shadare

Across Nigeria, new airports are appearing on the landscape with growing frequency. Governors commission them with pride, supporters celebrate them as symbols of progress, and critics dismiss them as expensive vanity projects. Yet both sides often overlook the essential point. An airport, by itself, is neither a development strategy nor an economic achievement. A runway is not an economy. The real question is not whether a state can build an airport, but whether it can…

OPINION: The Airport We Want: Why Every Passenger Must Be Part Of The Solution

Posted on June 1, 2026June 1, 2026 by Wole Shadare

By Henry Agbebire It is becoming increasingly common to encounter stories on social media from passengers and visitors who recount unpleasant experiences while travelling through some Nigerian airports. While some speak of repeated checks and requests for gratification, others describe unnecessary delays and encounters that leave them frustrated, disappointed, and questioning the quality of service they receive. This is unfortunate because air travel should evoke a different experience altogether. An international journey ought to be…

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