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NCAA logo The Director of Consumer Protection Directorate of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Adamu Abdullahi, has said that bad weather, technical problems and logistics issues have made it inevitable for airlines to delay and cancel flights. He however pointed out that the airlines must crave passengers understanding by carrying them along. Adamu stated this at the weekend in Lagos when Arik Air offered four of its passengers, selected through a raffle draw, an all-expenses paid trip to Brazil. The four lucky winners were picked from the tickets of many loyal customers at a draw that was overseen by the music icon, Ice Prince. The names of the lucky winners are Onuegbu Chima Godwin, Fashawe Oluwayemisi, Aluko Bade and Samuel Bayode. The airline said the gesture was to say thank you to its customers and to give back to them, adding that there is plan to sustain the programme and expand it in future. The head of flight operations and deputy ma

British Airways prepares to increase the number of flights it operates to Newcastle. With two additional frequencies between London Heathrow and Newcastle, the airline now offers 41 flights each week. Operated by an A320, the extra services are due to come into effect on June 2. British Airway’s head of UK&I sales and marketing, Richard Tams, commented: “Our route between London and Newcastle is at the very heart of our domestic network. “The number of flights on offer means customers can connect through London to our entire network of destinations, offering great opportunities for both leisure and business travellers.” Aviation development director at Newcastle International Airport, Chris Sanders, noted: “Heathrow connectivity is very important to this region.” “These extra flights will help make it easier to reach southeast England, as well as shortening journey times for some connections through Heathrow.” Source: www.routes-news.com/news

The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on Wednesday fixed May 17 to 31 for the conduct of 2014 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) through Computer Based Test (CBT). This is contained in a statement signed by Mr Fabian Gabriel, the Head of Public Relations of the board, and issued to newsmen in Abuja. According to the statement, the CBT will take place in over 163 centres in Nigeria and abroad, saying the date was sacrosanct. The statement also described CBT as the best mode of examination. It, however, urged the candidates to reprint their e-slip in the event they missed or misplaced their schedules.“Over 616,000 candidates are expected to sit for the examination with over 250 prisoners in Kaduna and Ikoyi prisons,” it added. “The CBT remains the best mode as it provides better platform for the candidates to articulate their educational pursuit.“It eliminates result black-out or incomplete results and eliminates examination malpractice and enhances prompt

…Receives AOC from NCAA President of AZMAN Air Services Limited, Alhaji Abdulmunaf Yunusa has disclosed that the airline would start its flight operations tomorrow (Thursday). Alhaji Yunusa said the airline would begin its flight on Kano to Lagos by 7:30am, then Lagos to Abuja and Abuja to Kaduna. He stated that the airline would commence flight operations with two Boeing 737 classic. Speaking with journalists while receiving the Air Operators Certificate, AOC, at the NCAA annex, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Yunusa stated that the airline’s inflight services would be very good as passengers will be treated with care. Alhaji Yunusa expressed appreciation to the management of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, for the granting them the AOC. Similarly, the acting director general of NCAA, Engr. Benedict Adeyileka has tasked the management of AZMAN Air to ensure safety at all times as well as to protect and make their passengers more comfortable during the course

Arik Air, West and Central Africa’s largest airline, said it has responded to passengers demand by increasing its flights frequency from Lagos-Monrovia (Liberia) and Lagos-Luanda (Angola) respectively. The Lagos-Monrovia service has been increased from three to four weekly flights using a Boeing 737-700 aircraft. The new flight will operate on Saturdays, adding to the existing Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays services. All four weekly flights are operated via Accra with a fifth freedom traffic rights approval facilitating traffic between these two cities as well. Similarly, the twice weekly Lagos-Luanda service has been increased to three weekly flights. The service will now operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The outbound flight will depart Lagos at 9:30pm (local time) and arrive in Luanda at 12:35am (local time) while the inbound flight will depart Luanda at 02:00am (local time) and arrive in Lagos at 05:05am (local time). Commenting on the additi

A start up airline, Astral Aviation, has become a member of African Airlines Association (AFRAA). AFRAA has its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. Astral Aviation’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Sanjeev Gadhia, said: “We are truly excited in being the first cargo airline to become a member of AFRAA which is a prestigious association of African airlines. Astral has benefited immensely from AFRAA’s initiatives such as the Joint Fuel Purchase Programme in addition to the training programs which has provided considerable cost savings. The airline is poised to work closely with AFRAA on matters relating to cargo with the objective of lobbying for the liberalisation and promotion of air cargo in Africa and to advocate against the high cost of cargo related fees and taxes in the continent.” Secretary General, AFRAA, Dr Elijah Chingosho, said: “We are excited to welcome Astral Aviation into the AFRAA fraternity as this will enable us to tap into the huge experience and expertise of this carrier

  Relatives and friends of the abducted Nigerian schoolgirls have identified some of them from a video released by Boko Haram Islamist militants. The footage showed about 130 of more than 200 girls who were kidnapped a month ago from their boarding school in Borno state reciting Koranic verses. Boko Haram's leader says the captured girls who have not converted to Islam can be swapped for jailed fighters. Nigeria's government says it is considering all options. A community leader in Chibok told the BBC that school friends had identified three of the girls in the video. A mother had also recognised her daughter from the girls who appear in a group wearing hijabs, the chairman of the parents-teachers association at the school told the Reuters news agency "The video got parents apprehensive again after watching it but the various steps taken by the governments and the coming of the foreign troops is boosting our spirit, even though I have not seen the any one sold

Boko Haram released a new video on Monday claiming to show the missing schoolgirls, alleging the teenagers had converted to Islam and would not be released until all militant prisoners were freed.The group’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, speaks on the video obtained by AFP for 17 minutes before showing what he said were the girls, in Muslim dress and praying in an undisclosed rural location. A total of 276 girls were abducted on April 14 from the northeastern town of Chibok, in Borno state, which has a sizeable Christian community. Some 223 are still missing.The footage shows about 130 girls in black and grey full-length hijabs sitting on scrubland near trees, reciting the first chapter of the Muslim holy book, the Koran, and holding their palms upwards in prayer.Three of the girls are interviewed. Two say they were Christian and had converted while one said she was Muslim. Most of the group were seated. The girls appeared calm and one said that they had not been harm

  Arik Air Major Nigerian carrier, Arik Air, has alerted air travellers on the new security measures put in place at Nigerian airports by the federal government and therefore advised all intending air passengers to set out early for their flights to avoid loss of travel time. The new security measures, which took effect from May 1 are meant to improve security at the nation’s airports, especially the international ones. The new security measures extends the profiling of passengers by operatives and this would take longer time as every passenger is subjected to detailed checks. Arik Air warned passengers that the government had put extra security measures in place at all airports and this could cause traffic snarl at the airport roads leading to unforeseen delays or missed flights for travellers. The new security measures being implemented by the government had led to visible presence of more security personnel across the nation’s airports. Passengers ar