Nigeria,s Aviation News Headlines for Tuesday July 26, 2016

NCAA Flays Passengers’ Violent Protests Over Fuel Scarcity(Guardian)

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), yesterday, appealed to air passengers nationwide to show restraints as they express displeasure over the current spate of flight delays and cancellations caused by scarcity of aviation fuel.
NCAA said while protests are understandable, destroying public properties at airports cannot be justified.
Spokesman of the agency, Sam Adurogboye, appealed for calm, as he gave assurance that the Federal Government is working to ensure the scarcity of on fuel abates.

Adurogboye said the call for restraints became necessary due to reports of passengers’ rage and violence from some of the nation’s airports in the last few days. “In some cases, irate passengers resorted to wanton destruction of facilities at the airports.”

He said: “The government is already engaging all stakeholders involved with the procurement and distribution of aviation fuel, to ensure availability.”
http://guardian.ng/news/ncaa-flays-passengers-violent-protests-over-fuel-scarcity

 

Ship Discharges Aviation Fuel in Lagos(Punch)

Domestic airlines and their passengers will soon heave a sigh of relief over the scarcity of aviation fuel, as eight million litres of the product have been discharged in Lagos.

The Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Obafemi Olawore, said in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Monday that a marketer had already taken delivery of the product, also known as Jet-A1 fuel.

“One marketer has the product now; we are expecting more. A ship has completed a discharge. We are expecting a second ship this week. Already, we have a minimum of eight million litres of Jet-A1 fuel in the market now,” Olawore said.

In the past few weeks, air passengers have been forced to cope with flight cancellations and delays as the airlines struggle to continue operations in view of the scarcity of the product.

Domestic airlines in the country had last week stated that they might be forced to scale down their operations if the scarcity of aviation fuel persisted. At the time, only two marketers were said to be supplying all the domestic airlines in the country.

Industry stakeholders have variously blamed the situation on the inability of oil marketers to source foreign exchange with which to import the product. As a result, its price has been raised, with the product presently being sold for between N160 and N200 per

litre.

http://punchng.com/ship-discharges-aviation-fuel-lagos

‘Single African Sky ‘ll Deepen Market for Airlines’(Nation)

The implementation of Single Sky for Africa will deepen the  air transport market in the  continent, Rwanda Air Country Manager,  Ms. Ibiyemi Odunsi, has said.
She said the removal of all restrictions on air agreements among African countries will enable African carriers spread their tentacles across  the continent.
If the single airspace policy is accelerated, the challenge of intra – African connections, which has been a nightmare to  many passengers, would be eliminated, she said in an interview with The Nation.
According her, this informed the various initiatives by players in the sector to promote the Single Sky Policy, which is expected to give opportunity to not very strong African carriers to leverage with the stronger carriers from Eastern and Southern Africa.
She canvassed the pooling of resources among African countries to build aircraft maintenance facilities. Such facilities, she argued, would not only reduce the individual cost of aircraft maintenance, but create a pool of expertise in aircraft maintenance on the continent.
Ms Odunsi said a review of some policies by the  government of some African countries would  assist the growth and development of African carriers and, ultimately, create more competition on the continent. She described Rwanda Air’s operations   in Nigeria
in the last four years as phenomenal, because of the gaps the carrier has filled in providing air transport services.
Ms. Odunsi said if more African carriers are encouraged through policy reviews, fares on routes within and outside the continent would reduce significantly, because some passengers have to travel to Europe first before they could access some African
countries because of poor flight connectivity.  She said Rwanda Air has remained relevant on Nigerian route because the carrier has kept its promise to passengers, who are daily asking for improved services .
http://thenationonlineng.net/single-african-sky-ll-deepen-market-airlines

Can Airlines Survive with Dwindling Revenue?(New Telegraph)

Hard times
These are not the best of times for airlines particularly Nigeria carriers. The country is technically in recession. This has affected the revenue of virtually all the carriers amid sharp reduction in passenger traffic. Airline business is tough, unprofitable, and heavily
regulated.
It is even more overregulated in Nigeria because of the aggregate differences between the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) regulations, and the adverse policies issued by the ministry of aviation.
Also, the quality of unknowledgeable players in the sector who keep ill-advising the government on how the industry should be guided would in no time lead to the death of the industry.
Rise in Jet A1 price
With aviation fuel spiralling at N170 per litre, passenger traffic going down fast as a result of the harsh economic reality, multiple charges by various aviation agencies, huge overhead cost, fewer aircraft availability, unfavourable operating environment and poor
business model, the airlines are indeed in dire strait. An unstable currency is a precursor to airline failure.

https://newtelegraphonline.com/can-airlines-survive-dwindling-revenue

 

 AIR RAGE: Aviation Minister Must Act Now(New Telegraph)

Not many are impressed with the performance of Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika. They had bottled up their frustration over the drifting of the aviation sector.
If one were to conduct a survey, it would be doubtful if the Minister would score 20 per cent in a performance-based rating. It took the courage of National secretary of Nigeria Aviation Professionals Association (NAPA), Abdulrasaq Saidu to bring to the fore the
seeming apathy of the Minister to the sector.
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.
Aviation is economic driver for nations, not one that should be treated with levity, since we do not have accurate statistics to show what the country earns from aviation industry.
For Nigeria, it oscillates between N40billion and N50billion annually. Aviation gives the United States $1.5 trillion per year in economic activity – jobs, commerce, leisure. Aviation is key to the America’s economy and is one of the main reasons NASA invests in
aeronautics research to support the US to make air transportation globally sustainable.
https://newtelegraphonline.com/air-rage-aviation-minister-must-act-now

Emirates Gets Best World Airlines award(Nation)

Emirates has been  named the World’s Best Airline at the  Skytrax World Airline Awards.
The ceremony took place at the Farnborough Air Show in the United Kindgom (UK) last week.
The Middle East carrier also  won the awards for World’s Best In-flight entertainment for a record 12th consecutive year as well being the best airline for the Middle East  region.
Based on the results of the largest airline passenger satisfaction survey, the World’s Best Airline Awards are considered a global benchmark of airline excellence.
According to a statement by the airline, this  year’s Skytrax awards were based on a total of 19.2 million completed surveys covering 280 airlines, by customers from more than 104 countries.
The Skytrax survey, the statement said  measures quality standards across 41 key performance indicators of front-line products and services in the airline industry.
http://thenationonlineng.net/emirates-gets-best-world-airlines-award

EgyptAir Signs $900m Boeing Deal(New Telegraph)

The United States based aircraft manufacturer, Boeing, and EgyptAir, have announced an order for nine Next-Generation 737-800s.
A statement by Boeing obtained by African Airline Association (AFRAA), said the deal is valued at $864 million at current list prices, with eight of the airplanes to be financed by Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
It noted that the order coincided with 50 years of partnership between Boeing and EgyptAir, that began with an order for a 707 aircraft in 1966.
It also disclosed that EgyptAir placed its first 737 order in 1975. Chairman of EgyptAir, Mr. Safwat Musallam said over the years, Boeing has played an important role in our growth plan, adding that the Next- Generation 737-800s have earned an excellent
reputation for reliability, performance and cost efficiency and has added tremendous value to our operations.”
https://newtelegraphonline.com/egyptair-signs-900m-boeing-deal

Solar Plane Completes Historic Round-the-World Trip(Guardian)

Solar Impulse 2 landed Tuesday in the UAE, completing its epic journey to become the first sun-powered airplane to circle the globe without a drop of fuel to promote renewable energy.

The plane touched down at 04:05 (0005 GMT) in the capital Abu Dhabi after a more than 48 hour-long flight from Cairo, the final leg in its journey which began on March 9 last year.

Cheers and clapping welcomed the plane as it arrived at Al-Bateen Executive Airport, where it first launched its world tour, an AFP journalist reported.

http://guardian.ng/technology/solar-plane-completes-historic-round-the-world-trip/