Nigeria's Aviation News Headlines For July 21, 2016
Aviation Fuel Ship Berths at Lagos Port(Guardian)
• Oil marketers projects end to scarcity FridayA 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.
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
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/07/naira-depreciates-n375-parallel-market
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