Nigeria’s Aviation News Headlines for Thursday October 20, 2016
No
Plan to Reduce Flight Operations in Nigeria- Lufthansa Airline
An international carrier, Lufthansa Airline, on Thursday, said it had no plan to reduce its flight operations in Nigeria.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the airline’s Media Consultant, Mr. Hakeem Jimoh, made the disclosure to aviation correspondents in Lagos.
NAN reports that two foreign airlines, Emirates and Kenya, recently announced the suspension of their flights to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
While Emirates Airlines said it would stop flights to Abuja from Oct. 22, Kenya Airways said its flights to the nation’s capital would be suspended from Nov.15.
Both airlines attributed the decision to the economic downturn in the country, foreign exchange challenges, and the shrinking passenger traffic.
Jimoh said Lufthansa Airline, which operates flights to Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt International Airports, would not be following a similar path for now.
Nigeria Misses out in Air Passenger Growth Projection for African Nations
IATA’s Director General and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Alexandre de Juniac
Global demand to double by 2035
Growing population of the country notwithstanding, Nigeria missed out among top 10 African countries with fastest growing market for air passenger and potential growth in the next 20 years.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) in its 20-Year Air Passenger Forecast released yesterday noted that Africa will see about 5.1 per cent of growth, but may not come from its most populated country – Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the clearing house for over 270 airlines worldwide, IATA, is expecting 7.2 billion passengers to travel in 2035, a near doubling of the 3.8 billion air travellers in 2016.
The prediction is based on a 3.7 per cent annual Compound Average Growth Rate (CAGR) noted in the release of the latest update to the association’s 20-Year Air Passenger Forecast. The top 10 fastest-growing markets in percentage terms will be in Africa. They are: Sierra Leone, Guinea, Central African Republic, Benin, Mali, Rwanda, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Madagascar.
Each of these markets is expected to grow by more than eight per cent each year on average over the next 20 years, doubling in size each decade.
Fillers from the Nigerian market said that the country’s absence among the top 10 might not be unconnected with the problem of low patronage facing both domestic and foreign airlines. While domestic airlines struggle to carry out scheduled operations, their foreign counterparts have either reduced frequencies or switch to aircraft of smaller seat-capacity.
Figures released by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) show that passenger movement at both local and international travel has reduced and it is projected that it would continue to drop till the middle of next year.
http://guardian.ng/business-services/nigeria-misses-out-in-air-passenger-growth-projection-for-african-nation
Aircraft Operators: 47 Nigerian Airlines Have Closed Shop in 30 Years
• Banks’ exposure to airlines non-performing loans put at N246.9bn
Diverse
challenges mitigating against the smooth and profitable operations of
airline business in Nigeria, have led to the closure of 47 airlines in
the last 30 years.
Some
of the challenges include multiple taxation, policy deviation and policy
contradiction by the executive arm of government, and high cost of
renting ground space at airports.
The
Secretary General of Aircraft Operators Association of Nigeria, Captain
Mohammed Joji, outlined these challenges when he made a submission to
the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation yesterday.
The Hon.
Nkeiruka Onyejeocha-led committee is currently holding a public hearing
on the need to save the aviation industry from imminent collapse. The
hearing which commenced on Tuesday continues until Friday.
NDLEA Intercepts 325,640 Euros, $30,000 Cash at Lagos Airport
Officials
of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted
325,640 Euros and $30,000 (About N175m) in cash about to be smuggled
into the country from Greece and Austria.
The cash, concealed inside envelopes and
shoes, was seized at the Murtalla Muhammed International Airport (MMIA)
in Lagos during the screening of passengers on a Turkish Airline
flight.Two suspects were arrested.
NDLEA commander at the Lagos airport,
Ahmadu Garba said Edos Nicholas was found in possession of 279,190 euros
and Hallowell Prince Lovely was found in possession of €46,450 euros
and 30,000 dollars.
Chairman and Chief Executive of the
NDLEA Col. Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah (retd.) directed the Director of
Assets and Financial Investigation of the Agency, Mrs Victoria Egbase,
to take over the investigation.
Abdallah said: “This is a suspected
case of money laundering. Criminal groups seek to conceal the origin of
illegally obtained money. It is pertinent therefore for us to trace the
origin of the money and prevent the introduction of criminal funds into
the economy. Consequently, I have directed that the case be meticulously
investigated”.
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