Nigeria's Aviation News Headlines For July 21, 2016



Aviation Fuel Ship Berths at Lagos Port(Guardian)

• Oil marketers projects end to scarcity Friday

A cheering news wafted through the aviation sector yesterday as the much-awaited aircraft fuel, also known as Jet-A1, landed at Apapa port in Lagos.

The arrival of Jet-A1, which was confirmed by oil marketers, is expected to ease the fuel scarcity that has almost grounded operations in the aviation sector since the week began.
Executive Secretary of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Obafemi Olawole, told The Guardian that Federal Government’s pledge to intervene in the aviation fuel scarcity, facilitated the arrival of the product.

Olawole confirmed that the aviation fuel-laden ship arrived at the port Wednesday morning and set for distribution later in the day.
He said another ship of aviation fuel is also expected next week, with the Federal Government’s support to avail foreign exchange (dollar) to the aviation fuel importers.
Jet-A1 is 100 per cent imported into the country because no single drop is currently refined locally. And since the instability of naira to dollar at the foreign exchange market, supply shortage and scarcity have been perennial issue in flights operations.
It would be recalled that the oil marketers had blamed high cost of buying Dollar (N320-plus) from the banks, as the reason importers had backed off from importing the product into the country. And with the reserves almost exhausted, scarcity with attendant
effects on operations became inevitable.
http://guardian.ng/business-services/aviation-fuel-ship-berths-at-lagos-port

Airlines May Scale Down Operations Over Fuel Scarcity(Punch)

As the scarcity of aviation fuel persists, domestic airlines in the country have said that they may be forced to scale down their operations if nothing is done to ameliorate the situation.
Many airline operators told our correspondent on Wednesday that aviation fuel, also known as Jet-A1, was being bought at cut throat prices ranging from N160 to N200 per litre instead of N105.
One of the operators, who spoke on condition of anonymity, lamented that the situation was deteriorating.
He said, “There are only two marketers presently supplying Jet-A1 fuel to all the airlines in the country; that is not enough. The remaining oil marketers complain that they are handicapped by their inability to get forex to import the product. Those who get, do so
at a very high rate, which also affects their profits.
“What we are doing is using up the stock that we have. Once that stock is used up and it is not replenished, some of the airlines will have to scale down or shut their operations. We cannot continue like this for another week.”
Another operator, who also declined to be quoted, said there was the possibility that some of the marketers were hoarding the product.
He said, “The situation is still very tight although we have not cancelled any flight since Monday. We had some delays but some of the marketers came to our aid. They have been helpful but no one will sell Jet-A1 fuel for less than N200 per litre.

Nigerians Task NCAA to Wade into Price War Among Airlines(Sun)

Concerned Nigerians have tasked the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to fix the minimum fare chargeable by airlines in the country, following recent unnecessary rivalry that could endanger the passengers’ lives.
On the recent reduction of fares on Lagos-Owerri, Lagos-Calabar and Lagos-Enugu routes by some airlines to between N11, 000 and N12, 000, a frequent air traveler, Mr. Samuel Babatunde, warned that the development could compromise the safety of
passengers. According to him, there is no doubt that airlines in the country were operating under very difficult circumstances, a situation, which was worsened by the foreign exchange and aviation fuel crises that further push up operational costs of airlines.
He expressed shock that some of the airline operators could resort to charging ridiculous low fares just to outdo one another and he called on appropriate authorities to ensure sanity in the system.
In his words: “Although, this should normally be something the flying public should be happy about, the danger this practice poses to the safety of passengers cannot be wished away. How can an airline charge N11, 000 for a trip from Lagos to Owerri without
compromising passengers’ safety?
http://sunnewsonline.com/nigerians-task-ncaa-to-wade-into-price-war-among-airlines


Medview Airline Chief Bags Aviation Personality Award(Tribune)

The Managing Director/CEO of Medview Airlines, Alhaji Muneer Bankole, has bagged the Balafon Aviation Personality of the Year 2016 in Nigeria award, at the just concluded second Weizo Travel and Tourism conference and exhibition in Accra, Ghana.

Presenting the award, the organiser of Weizo, Mr Ikechi Uko, commended Alhaji Bankole for his effort so far at reducing the pains of Nigerian travellers, who had been at the mercy of foreign airlines.

Uko said Medview Airline’s strong presence in the aviation industry in Nigeria is what had endeared Bankole to travellers, who through online process voted him as the Aviation Personality of the Year.

He expressed delight that a Nigerian carrier was championing the crusade to uplift the aviation industry.

In his acceptance speech, Alhaji Bankole thanked the organisers of WEIZO and noted that the industry was undergoing a metamorphosis, pointing out that from an initial over 20 Air Operating Certificates (AOC), that the industry was now down to a one digit

AOC.


Delta Airline Deploys Baggage Tracking Process in Nigeria(Tribune)
Delta is deploying Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) baggage tracking technology across its system, including Lagos Murtala Muhammed International Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

This is just as the airline has also reported a pre-tax income of $2.4 billion for the month of June 2016 quarter.

The technology which spreads across its entire system, according to the airline, will provide Nigerian customers with improved real-time tracking of luggage throughout the travel experience.

Delta remains the only United States’ carrier to operate nonstop service between Nigeria and the United States, offering hundreds of onward connecting opportunities via Delta’s Atlanta hub.

While the RFID will replace barcode hand scanning, which is the industry standard since the early 90s, with this new technology, scanners use radio waves to capture highly accurate and consistent data stored on an RFID chip embedded in the luggage tag,

driving superior tracking and increased transparency.



Group Carpets Sirika Over Rot in Aviation(NewTelegraph)

  • Urges Buhari to re-assign Minister
Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika has come under criticisms for the manner he has handled the country’s aviation sector and allegedly frustrated reform in the industry.

National secretary of Nigeria Aviation Professionals Association (NAPA), Abdulrasaq Saidu made the disclosure while calling for restructuring of various aviation agencies in the country for effective administration.

Saidu noted that the aviation was drifting alleging that the Ministry seemed to have no clue as to how to give policy direction to a sector in dire need of rescue.

He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to re-assign the Minister if the President wants results in aviation.



Air Côte d’Ivoire Signs Firm Order for Airbus A320 (Thisday)
At the opening of the Farnborough Air Show, held in the United Kingdom, Air Côte d’Ivoire, Ivory Coast’s national airline based in Abidjan, signed a firm order for the purchase of an additional A320neo to complete its fleet.
Air Côte d’Ivoire already distinguished itself in the spring by becoming the first African airline to order the A320neo.
“This additional A320neo would allow Air Côte d’Ivoire to truly differentiate its product by offering a higher level of comfort to its customers with new aircraft. Thanks to this new Airbus aircraft, Air Côte d’Ivoire will also improve its operating efficiency to better
meet the need for traffic growth,” said General Abdoulaye Coulibaly, Chairman of the Board.

Nigeria’s Airports Not Yet Ripe for Privatisation (Tribune)
Recently, the Federal Government announced its plan to privatise the four international airports in the country.
Speaking through the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, the government said the planned privatisation/concession of the four airports was to guarantee efficiency and good management in view of dwindling resources from the government for infrastructural
development in the aviation industry.
According to investigations, the airports to be privatised are: the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos; the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja; the Port Harcourt International Airport and the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano.

 

  
Naira Depreciates to N375/$ in Parallel Market (Vanguard, Nation, Sun)

THE naira yesterday suffered heavily at the parallel market depreciating by N7 against the dollar. Vanguard investigation reveals that the parallel market exchange rate rose from N268 per dollar on Tuesday to N375 per dollar at the close of business yesterday.

The sharp depreciation was triggered by increased scarcity of the nation’s currency in the interbank market. The lack of dollar supply in the interbank market was aggravated by lack of intervention dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) causing the

naira depreciate by 12 in the market in ten days. However the naira appreciated yesterday at the interbank spot market with the interbank exchange rate dropping to N294.23 per dollar from N294.57 on Monday. It was gathered that only one transaction worth

$380,000 was transacted yesterday and it was conducted at 11.50 am more than three hours after the market opened. The interbank market had seen just $300,000 traded on Tuesday, again in one transaction.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/07/naira-depreciates-n375-parallel-market



 

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