Inside the billion-naira debt trap threatening Nigeria’s aviation sector

Inside the billion-naira debt trap threatening Nigeria’s aviation sector

Nigeria’s aviation sector is operating on life support. Beneath the gleaming veneer of terminal upgrades and the seemingly bubbling activities lies a structurally compromised industry quietly choking on a mountain of uncollectible debt, writes WOLE SHADARE ​A thorough investigation into the balance sheets of local airlines reveals a toxic, multi-billion-naira debt portfolio owed to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), aviation ground handling…

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‘Why Nigeria Is Missing Out As Africa’s Aviation Powerhouse’

‘Why Nigeria Is Missing Out As Africa’s Aviation Powerhouse’

…seeks unified African sky The Director-General of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Willie Walsh, said Nigeria should be a powerful aviation market, given the country’s population and underlying wealth. Walsh, who spoke to Aviation Metric on Monday on the sidelines of the 82nd International Air Transport Association (IATA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, said there’s no reason why it shouldn’t. Walsh Walsh disclosed that Africa…

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Crisis Emptying Nigeria, Africa’s Jet Fuel Reserves

Crisis Emptying Nigeria, Africa’s Jet Fuel Reserves

The crisis threatening to ground the continent’s aviation industry is far more visceral, and it is unfolding thousands of miles away, writes WOLE SHADARE The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has sounded a resounding alarm, warning that Africa’s jet fuel storage is rapidly drying up. For decades, the standard playbook for African airlines battling operational turbulence has relied on familiar variables: fluctuating currencies, heavy tax regimes, and regulatory gridlock. What began as a localised military flare-up…

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SAHCO Drives New Nigeria-UAE, Middle East Airlines Trade Alliances

SAHCO Drives New Nigeria-UAE, Middle East Airlines Trade Alliances

Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc (SAHCO) has expressed its willingness to strengthen trade facilitation between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) while also exploring strategic partnerships with leading Middle Eastern airlines to boost passenger, cargo, and e-commerce activities between the two countries. The Managing Director/CEO, SAHCO, Mrs. Adenike Aboderin, on behalf of the SAHCO Chairman, Barr, Dr Taiwo Afolabi (CON) reiterated on strengthening bilateral trade, enhancing passenger and cargo handling, trade facilitation, e-commerce partnerships…

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Why Nigeria Must Turn Airports Into Engines of Growth

Why Nigeria Must Turn Airports Into Engines of Growth

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…

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Walsh: Airfare rises ‘inevitable’ as Nigeria, global airlines face extra $100bn jet fuel bill

Walsh: Airfare rises ‘inevitable’ as Nigeria, global airlines face extra $100bn jet fuel bill

Wole Shadare, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil The Director-General of International Air Transport Association (IATA), Willie Walsh, said global airlines, including Nigerian carriers, will have to spend an extra $100bn on jet fuel this year, with fares inevitably rising to cover the bill after the war with Iran choked off oil supplies. Walsh, while fielding questions from journalists at the end of the 82nd IATA Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Transport Summit in Rio de…

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IATA: Setting up sustainable, profitable airline in Nigeria uphill battle

IATA: Setting up sustainable, profitable airline in Nigeria uphill battle

   Ranks nation, Afghanistan tough place to set up airline business in the world ·         Lauds Keyamo over Nigeria’s aviation reforms Wole Shadare, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Kamil Alawahdi, has listed Nigeria and crisis-torn Afghanistan as two nations where setting up airlines is the toughest in the world.   Al-Awadhi’s critique, while speaking with Aviation Metric at the IATA 82nd Annual…

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Nigeria, AfDB Sign Letter of Intent for $7 Billion IATP Integrated Aviation Transformation Programme

Nigeria, AfDB Sign Letter of Intent for $7 Billion IATP Integrated Aviation Transformation Programme

Keyamo Unveils Nation’s Air Transport Upgrades at AfDB Dialogue in Congo In his new role as the African Champion of the Integrated Aviation Transformation Programme (IATP) of the African Development Bank (AFDB), Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, in Brazzaville, Congo, attended a dialogue session with the President and Governors of the AFDB where he addressed them on the opportunities presented by the $7 billion programme of the IATP for Africa and especially…

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Nigeria’s Domestic Aviation Paradox

Nigeria’s Domestic Aviation Paradox

Nigeria’s domestic airspace is witnessing an unprecedented paradox: commercial capacity is under strain, yet the rush to launch new airlines has reached a fever pitch, writes WOLE SHADARE In a rare display of regional synergy, Gombe, Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Taraba, and Yobe states have pooled N30 billion to birth the North-East Air Shuttle. The goal is connectivity; linking an underserved, economically critical region directly to the federal grid. Ebonyi State has entered the fray with Ebonyi…

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FAAN: Despite high charges, Nigeria’s aviation pricing falls short of reality

FAAN: Despite high charges, Nigeria’s aviation pricing falls short of reality

The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr Henry Agbebire, said the recent classification of Nigeria by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) as one of the countries with aviation charges above the global average fits neatly into a long-standing narrative, depicting Africa as expensive, Nigeria as difficult, and airlines as victims. He noted that IATA is not entirely wrong if they consider aviation charges across…

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