Nigeria's Aviation News Headlines For Wednesday November 16, 2016

 

Happy midweek! I do hope the reported scarcity  of JetA1 does not linger as usual and that can really compound the current issues in Nigerian airline business.
 Please find the headlines and follow the links to read the details.

Flight Delays Rise as Airlines Blame Fuel Scarcity 
 
Another round of aviation fuel scarcity has hit the industry with domestic carriers delaying or cancelling their flights on daily basis, findings by Daily Trust have shown.
It was gathered that the latest fuel scarcity began to take its toll on flight operations last weekend with petroleum marketers rationing supply.
The development, according to operators was responsible for delay of flights.
Many flights were reportedly delayed in Abuja on Sunday evening over what the airlines called operational issues though they were not specific about the reasons.
It was a hard and tough period for hundreds of passengers who suffered hours of delays as almost all the operating airlines -  Arik, Air Peace, Dana and Med-View - kept announcing delays of their flights by one to two hours long after the scheduled time of the flight had passed.
Spokesman of Dana Air, Kingsley Okwudili, attributed the delay to the general aviation fuel scarcity which just reared its ugly head.

Report: Nigerian Airlines on International Routes Losing Market SharesChief Executive Officer, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr. Bismarck RewaneNigerian carriers on the international route are losing market shares, a report has indicated.

International passenger traffic is shrinking, the report stated, adding that there are indications that 60 per cent of all airline tickets are dollar purchased.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) exchange rate is N308/$.
However, the report revealed that airlines are enjoying higher patronage from Nigerians paying in naira.
The Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, stated this in a report titled: Re: “Recovery Fades, Strong Regulator versus Efficient Markets,” which he delivered at the Lagos Business School’s Executive Breakfast session recently.
Kenya Airways reported a major loss for the second year running, rationed its route network and cut 40 per cent of its destinations. Abuja was one of the first casualties. Others were Gabon and Botswana. While Ethiopian Airlines and its subsidiary Asky is gaining market share across Africa, with the Lagos-Lome-Newark route as a blockbuster.
The report indicated that passenger load traffic has been down by 60 per cent, indicating that discount fares and promos are back.

Stakeholders Allign With FG’s Plan To Concession Airports

Stakeholders have aligned themselves with the federal government’s plan to concession some of the nation’s airports, expressing a buy-in to the whole concept, just as they agreed that it was about time unless the country’s aviation sector would remain stagnant.
Speaking at a one-day stakeholders’ forum held at the Sheraton Hotel and Suites, notable aviation industry players like the veteran pilot and managing director (MD) of Aeroconsult, Captain Dele Ore, MD of Medview Airline, Alhaji Muneer Bankole, as well as MD of IRS Airlines, Alhaji Ishiaku Rabiu Ishiaku, strongly supported the idea.
According to Ore, who led the flurry of buy-ins, the minister of state for aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, is now listening to what they had asked for for years, saying, “We can see that you (the minister) are looking at the recommendations that we have made in the past and are implementing it, but it is not being done totally and we urge you to go back and look at our recommendations and totally implement it.”


Aviation Safety: FG installs VORs, ILS at 6 Airports

Minister of State, Aviation, Hadi Sirika, yesterday revealed that six Doppler Very-high Omni-directional Radios (VORs) and six Instrument Landing Systems with a collocated Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) are currently being installed in six airports across the country to boost air navigation.
Speaking at the opening of the 24th meeting of Western and Central Africa Satellite Network Management Committee (SNMC) in Abuja yesterday, Sirika said the ministry had secured the government’s nod for the software and hardware upgrade and maintenance of the current Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria (TRACON) facility to make the system more efficient and interoperable with others.
“Also in our strategic effort to enhance air navigation, a Controller Pilot Data Communication System (CPDLC) and an Automatic Dependent Surveillance Contract for Communication (ADS-C) was installed and commissioned on November 2015 at Lagos and Kano centres to provide strategic backup for the existing communication and surveillance systems,” he said.



Reps Query NIS on Diaspora Passport Renewal

The House of Representatives committee on Diaspora Affairs has queried the Nigerian immigration Service (NIS) over allegations of exploitation and unnecessary delay in the renewal of international passport of Nigerians in the Diaspora.
Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Rita Orji (PDP, Lagos), made this known at an interactive session with the management of NIS led by Deputy Comptroller General, DCG Nuhu Ibrahim.
Orji disclosed that in the course of her oversight tour of Manchester, UK, she discovered that Nigerians seeking to renew their passports were overcharged by $30, adding that over 500 Nigerians who wanted to return home were stuck because the renewal of their passports was delayed.


SON Completes Work on Hotel Standards

What appears to be an historic feat has been achieved by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria as its National Mirror Committee (NMC) on Tourism and related activities has successfully completed work on the first ever standards on Nigerian hotels.
The standard is expected to form the baseline for the grading and classification of hotels in the country once approved.
Head, Ogun State Office 1 of SON, Engr. Enebi Shaibu Onucheyo, who represented the Director General of SON, Osita Anthony Aboloma, at an event held in Lagos yesterday, described this as a great achievement, which would bring about development in the tourism industry and lift it to another level as well as build confidence in the products and services offered by the industry in Nigeria.

Ex-Ghanaian President John Kufuor Is Dead

The former civilian President of Ghana, Mr. John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor, is dead.
He died in Johannesburg, South Africa on Tuesday morning following surgical operation on his spine.
According New Mail, quoting Reuters, Kufuor was flown to South Africa to receive medication after complaining bitterly about an excruciating pain at the spinal cord.
A team of doctors were said to have conducted a second surgical operation on Mr Kufuor’s spine; but unfortunately he passed away just after 45 minutes of the Surgery.
Though it’s obvious to provisionally attribute his sudden demise to the spinal problem, doctors have assured the public they will soon release autopsy report to ascertain the real cause.
An autopsy will fully confirm the cause of his death, but the best guess at the moment is the spinal problem.
Today is a sad day, Mr Kufuor’s death has come as a big shock to his party members and the entire Ghanaian Community, as Ghana is just on the verge of undergoing electoral exercises.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Healthy diet for the rainy season

When fibroid co-exists with pregnancy

Aviation Sectors Groans Under Rising Cost of Operations