Airport Reporters

 NDLEA arrests three suspects with 137.8 kg cocaine at Lagos Airport By Kelvin Osa Okunbor The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency(NDLEA) ,Lagos International Airport Command  has arrested three male suspects  with 137.8 kilograms of cocaine. The  suspects were arrested between January 6, 2021  and January 8 , 2021 with the illicit drugs  hidden inside hair relaxers, embroidery tailoring materials and shirts packaged with carbon and other oily substances to avoid being detected by the scanning machines. The suspected drug traffickers whose names were given as Okeke Uchenna and  Azubuike Jeremiah Emeka were nabbed by officials of the agency during inward clearance of Ethiopian airlines from Brazil while Abdul Musa a freight forwarder was nabbed while trying to export Cocaine to India through the cargo warehouse of the skyway Aviation Handling Company, SAHCO in Lagos. According to the NDLEA Airport Commander, Garba Ahmadu, at a news briefing, the suspec...

  COVID -19 : Nigeria Immigration Services steps up measures at borders  By Kelvin Osa Okunbor Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) said Wednesday that it has ramped up efforts to stem the spread of the second wave of COVID-19 strain by ensuring proper screening of persons coming into the country through various control borders. Besides ensuring adherence to COVID - 19 protocols for persons coming into the country, the service has equipped its personnel with personal protective equipment , sanitizers, face masks and shields and other materials to protect its workforce from any form of infection. Assistant Comptroller General (ACG) in charge of Lagos Zonal Office, Doris  Braimah who disclosed this in Lagos at the first quarterly meeting for Comptrollers in the zone said the service will continue to sensitize Nigerians on the need to comply with prescribed COVID -19 protocols. She said since the out set of the pandemic the NIS has not relented in equip...

 COVID -19 : FAAN automating access control at international airports ...............Urges operators to ensure airport users comply with protocols   By Kelvin Osa Okunbor To curtail the spread of the new strain of COVID - 19 virus, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria(FAAN) said it is automating access points into all airports, especially international terminals to reduce overcrowding of the facilities and possible human to human interface. Its Managing Director, Captain Hamisu Rabiu Yududu who disclosed this in an interview with The Nation at the weekend said the authority was leaving nothing to change in ensuring passengers , airline personnel ground handling operators , eateries and duty shop operators at airports adhere strictly to the prescribed protocols rolled out by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Presidential Task Force on COVID 19. The FAAN boss said besides measures rolled out during the first wave of the pandemic, the authority has ...

 How to reduce increasing rate of air crashes, by experts  Experts in the aviation sector have called on the Federal Government to take urgent steps in addressing poor communication between cockpit and the control tower, loss of situational awareness and , lack of training, poor facilities, fatigue, flight crew judgment and maintenance personnel in order to reduce the rate of air crashes. These factors, the experts said, constitute human factor contributions  to air disaster, if left unchecked will threaten passengers' confidence in travel.  President of National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), Engineer Abayomi Agoro and  representative of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Captain Akin George spoke at the weekend on ways of  preventing human factors in air accidents in a conference put together by Nigeria's Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB). Speaking on poor communication between cockpit and control tower,  Agoro decried...

 Airbus inks  contract with Intelsat By Kelvin Osa Okunbor European airplane manufacturer - Airbus and Intelsat have signed a contract to build two OneSat satellites operating in multiple frequency bands for Intelsat’s next-generation software-defined network. The satellites will be delivered in 2023 According to Intelsat, OneSat is designed to deliver the optimal balance between performance, flexibility and competitive cost per bit.  The satellites will be based on Airbus’ OneSat product line, the latest generation of fully flexible, in orbit reconfigurable software defined satellites (SDS). Airbus, which recently celebrated the delivery of the company’s first US-assembled A220 aircraft, will be delivering an end-to-end fully integrated solution, including design and manufacture of the satellites.  Jean-Marc Nasr, head of Airbus Space Systems commented: “This important contract with our long-standing and valued partner Intelsat, has a special significance for Airbus...

 Ripples over aviation bail out disbursement formula After many months of agitation, the Federal Government made good its plan by releasing bail out funds to airlines. Among the beneficiaries are:  ground handling companies, travel agencies and other players in the aviation sector. But, it was not without acrimony as the development has triggered allegations of skewed sharing formula writes KELVIN OSA- OKUNBOR. Storm is gathering in the aviation sector following the recent release of bail out funds to operators and players in the industry. The funds - N4 billion was released by the Federal Government as palliatives expected to cushion losses incurred since the outbreak of Corona Virus pandemic. Though experts had criticized the N4 billion packages as a paltry sum given the huge losses incurred by airlines. Ground handling companies, aviation fuel suppliers and others, the decision by the government to make good its promise has, however, received commendation from watchers of t...

 Airspace ban, travel protocols : triggers for aviation sector's turbulent flight in  2020  As the year 2020 navigates its bend towards the finishing lines of the tarmac , a flurry of activities dotted the air travel space that bears reminding- COVID -19 and its unintended consequences for the sector. Like no other, a chain of developments enveloped the year with the onset of the pandemic ,which continues to have debilitating effects on airlines, ground handling companies , aeronautical agencies and others connected to the air travel and logistic value chain,   KELVIN OSA- OKUNBOR  reports . As the year 2020 inches towards its end this week, it is one year players and operators in the air travel sector are not in a hurry to forget in the long time to come. Reason : It has been a year of sad reminders : harvest of deaths, job losses, shrinking revenues, redundancies in operations, flights bans, restrictions in flight operations and other negative develo...

  Aviation experts to examine human errors in air crashes By Kelvin Osa Okunbor Players and experts in aviation sector will meet  next week in Lagos to discuss ways of reducing the high rate of human errors in air crashes  at a one day conference. The conference put together by Accident Investigation Bureau   Nigeria ( AIB-N) and Aviation Media will serve as a platform for  pilots, aircraft engineers , personnel of emergency responders and other stakeholders to examine ways of reducing the high rate of human errors in air crashes. Speaking in an interview, AIB-N , Commissioner, Engineer Akin Olateru said the agency considered it imperative to consider the theme  :  “Preventing Human Factors In Accident Occurrences” , because   about 75 per cent of air accidents often occur as a result of  human factors. He listed issues constituting human factors  to include : inadequate training for technical personnel, poor facilities, fatigue and...

  DANA Air receives aircraft from maintenance  DANA Air at the weekend received two of its Boeing aircraft from maintenance overseas. The arrival of the aircraft , the airline said was part of measures to assist in mitigating schedule disruptions. Speaking on the development, its Chief Operating Officer, Mr Obi Mbanuzuo said the airplanes arrived a few days before  one of its aircraft returned to service.  Mbanuzuo :  '' We just  received one of our aircraft back from maintenance sound while the other is undergoing mandatory checks by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA ) before release.'' ''The safety of our passengers  and crew will continue to take priority in our operations and we will continue to keep our safety standards with zero tolerance for violations irrespective of the situation or circumstance.''  ''The return of another of our aircraft in late December, helped mitigate the schedule disruptions we  experienced recently an...

  Operating cost force  carriers to embrace regional jets ....... Embraer ATR, Bombardier top request list Pandemic shocks and increasing cost of aircraft operations is forcing Nigerian carriers to embrace regional jets , investigation by The Nation has  revealed. Among the regional aircraft types or jets attracting Nigerian carriers, investigations reveal include : Brazilian manufactured - Embraer ; Canadian designed - Bombardier and French manufactured - ATR. Investigations by The Nation  further revealed that while new entrants : United Nigeria Airlines and Green Africa Airlines have opted for ATR and Embraer in the fleet to save the escalating cost of operations, because the aircraft types ate fuel economical ; existing operators including Air Peace and Ibom Air are opting for  increasing number of Embraer and Bombardier in their fleet. Fuel cost, experts say, constitute over 60 per cent in the running expenditure of airlines , which keeps oscillating on acc...

  COVID-19 : FAAN  steps up measures at airports  ......Sets up compliance team As the global aviation industry  grapples with the second wave of the dreaded Corona virus pandemic, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has stepped up measures to ensure the safety of travelling passengers and other airport users across the nation. From the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, to Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Port Harcourt International Airport, Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport and others within its network, the authority  said it is not leaving any stone unturned in  ensuring the safe and secured facilitation of travellers. In a statement signed by its General Manager , Public Affairs,  Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu, FAAN    said  a new operational arrangement is in place across airports, including  car parks, which  have been rearranged for seamless pick-up and drop off to avoid congestion....

  AIB personnel urged to intensify efforts on service delivery  Accident Investigation Bureau Nigeria (AIB-N) has urged its members of staff not to relent in pursuing excellence while delivering the Bureau’s mandate of investigating air mishaps with the aim of ensuring continuous safety of air transport in Nigeria. The Commissioner of the Bureau, Engr. Akin Olateru who implored the AIB staff while delivering a speech in celebration of the New Year, 2021, stated that he was pleased with the Bureau's performance in the year 2020 despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and gave accolades to the staff for their various contributions. Olateru ,however ,said that they must all intensify their efforts to continuously build a world class and enviable institution while ensuring that focus, diligence and integrity remain their watchwords as they carry out their various duties. He also encouraged intra-department and inter-department cooperation and teamwork within the organisati...

  Henkel Nigeria  embarks on charity visit Henkel Nigeria Limited has embarked on a two day  charity  visit to children's homes in the vicinity of the company's Ibadan factory. The social responsibility initiative by the company according to the statement was part of its 2020 United Nations International Volunteering Day. The facilities visited by the company include :  His Heritage Home and Tabitha Home. While, His Heritage Home is a transitional and care shelter for orphans and vulnerable children,  the Tabitha Home is a formal care and transitional home for orphans and vulnerable children. The visit, the company said, was  in line with Henkel’s recognition and support of voluntary employee engagement by way of caring for local communities.  WAW detergents, food materials, groceries and stationeries were donated to the children’s homes. Mr. Aliyu Jibril, Human Resources Manager Henkel Nigeria, represented the Managing Director, Mr. Rajat Kapur. ...

  Tackling inadequate aviation infrastructure  NOVEMBER 17, 2020  0 Efforts by the Federal Government to address inadequate airport and air navigation infrastructure at aerodromes are not delivering the desired...

  Aviation sector quakes under huge debts  NOVEMBER 22, 2020  0 The fate of the nation’s aviation sector may be hanging on the precipice over N22b debts owed by some local...

  Enhancing passengers’ facilitation at airports   NOVEMBER 24, 2020  0 Federal Government’s clearance for more foreign carriers to restart flights into the country has necessitated the need to scale up...

  Lufthansa resumes Lagos, Abuja flights  DECEMBER 4, 2020  0 Lufthansa on Thursday welcomed passengers at Lagos airport on board on resumption of its nonstop flight from Frankfurt/Germany after an...

  Reactivating intra-Africa flights  DECEMBER 25, 2020  0 Connecting flights within Africa has remained a huge challenge for many years, forcing passengers to spend many hours before reaching.

  Cloudy weather  DECEMBER 28, 2020  0 The sector is one of the hardest-hit sectors by the COVID-19 pandemic.With debilitating effects on airlines, ground handling firms, aeronautical...