Airport Reporters

 FAAN to develop,  implement Cargo Bill of Rights ......To foster guarantee for improved exports. The lingering problem of Delays and multiple Charges for Cargo at the Airport will soon be a thing of the past. This is according to the MD CEO of FAAN , Mr  Kabir Yusuf Mohammed. The MD of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria FAAN assured the Aviacargo Roadmap committee that its Observation and recommendations will be implemented.  This was at the Monthly briefing to the MD by the Coordinator of the Committee Ambassador Ikechi Uko.  In his presentation Ambassador Uko told the MD that they could not make presentations in the last months because of the field trip embarked upon by the Committee.   He said that the five  stage project plan has only two legs left to complete the job and seeks the support of the MD to proceed with the remaining parts of the job.  This will include collation and report writing of the findings by Subject Matter experts...

 Saudi Arabia visa cancellation : Air Peace absolves self  ......Cooperates with authorities on probe  Air Peace has  absolved itself of any blame in the cancellation of visa by Saudi Arabian authorities to 264 Nigerians that flew on the carrier to Jeddah on November 12, 2023. The clarification is coming on the heels of disclosure by the airline of its cooperation with relevant authorities to unravel the cause of the infraction. The airlines  said it is constrained to make its position clear on the infraction because of conflicting reports and commentaries in the public domain. In a statement signed by the airline's Chief Operating Officer (COO), Mrs Oluwatoyin Olajide, Air Peace  said   as a scheduled flight operator with vast international operations experience,  it understands and complies with established protocols governing international flight operations and is not culpable of any infraction in this respect. She said : " For the avoidan...

  Saudi Arabian  authorities cancel visa of  264 Nigerians  passengers  Saudi Arabian authorities  have  cancelled the visa of  264 passengers airlifted by Nigeria’s Air Peace on arrival in Jeddah from Kano  insisting that the airline should return  to Nigeria. Out of the 264 passengers, only 87 were cleared by Saudi Arabian authorities after intense intervention by Nigerian embassy officials.  The flight took off from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos via the Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano on Sunday night and arrived in Saudi Arabia’s major city on Monday  without issues but on landing,  Saudi Arabian  authorities announced that all  passengers' visas were cancelled. A  source said  all  passengers and the airline personnel were shocked at the cancellation of the visas because during check-  in of the passengers they went through Advanced Passengers Pre - screening Sys...

  SAHCO offers clarification on Lagos Airport drug operations  The Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO), Plc   (SAHCO) has offered clarifications on alleged multi - billion naira drug operations linking its staff at the cargo warehouse of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos. According to the cargo, passenger and ramp handling company, none of its staff was involved in such operations, describing reports making the rounds as grossly misleading , malicious and a figment of imagination. In a statement signed by its spokesperson, Vanessa Unansohia, the company found it compelling to offer the clarification to dispel viral information on the development. SAHCO further explained that all Government agencies, including National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the Department of State Services, (DSS), Quarantine, Airforce etc, have unfettered access to its warehouse where they carry out their duties without any interference. “It is...

  Keyamo rallies African leaders for Single Africa Air Transport Market  Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo , has appealed to African leaders and aviation stakeholders to rally support for the idea of Single Africa Air Transport Market (SAATM) for more receptive diplomatic relations and ease of doing business within the continent. The  Minister made this known at the 24th edition of the Yamoussoukro Decision (YD) Week and the Single African Air Transport Market-SAATM event  in  Abuja. "It is hoped that the YD Anniversary Week celebration would inspire countries signatory to SAATM to further remove restrictions on air services while those who have not signed the commitment to SAATM be encouraged to voluntarily join and commit to the principles of the open skies policy. The need to speed up full implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision with regard to the Liberalization of Access to Air Transport Markets in Africa, cannot be over empha...

 Lagos Airport Customs Command  nets  N74.28b  revenue  in 10 months  The Murtala Muhammed Airport Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), said  it  generated  N74.28billion as revenue  from import between January to October, 2023. The Command also intercepted Tramadol worth N3.55 billion imported into Nigeria from Pakistan and India. Disclosing this at briefing, last week,  Customs Area Comptroller, Muhammed Yusuf said the command has recorded strides in the last ten months as a trade facilitation agency at one of the country's air borders. According to Yusuf, what was collected in 2023 was higher than 2022 collection by 23 percent. "During the period under review January — October 2023, the Command collected revenue to the tune of N74.28billon from Customs duty and other charges. In comparison to the revenue collected same period in 2022 which stood at N60.05billion.  "This clearly shows a progressive difference of N14....

  Decrepit airport Infrastructure spikes  airlines' operating costs Inadequate and decrepit airport and air navigation infrastructure is pushing indigenous carriers on the brink as they continue to  incur prohibitive operating costs propelled by uncalibrated and decommissioned facilities and limited hours of commercial activities at   some aerodromes across the country. Uncalibrated and decommissioned air navigation facilities include equipment , which are yet to be flight checked for their reliability, integrity and effectiveness by the global civil aviation regulator : International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Investigations by The Nation reveal that limited screening points , scanning machines, small space for airport aprons, single runways , decrepit baggage handling facilities, is forcing airlines to spend more time processing passengers. The inadequate state of some of the screening / processing facilities is forcing airlines to keep  the...