Category: Aviation

900 workers representing 60 per cent of Aero Contractors Airline staff, which is presently under the management of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), has been sacked. Letters of redundancy were issued to the affected employees during the week. Media Consultant to the 58 year-old airline, Mr Simon Tumba, who confirmed the development in a statement issued on Thursday in Lagos, said the workers would be paid their pension and gratuity. Aero as at last September had about 1,500 workers on its payroll before it suspended flights. AMCON had taken it over…

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The executive control of Arik Air has been taken over by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to save the carrier from collapse due to its heavy financial debt burden. The airline will now be managed by Capt. Roy Ukpebo Ilegbodu, a veteran aviation expert with more than 30 years experience, under the receivership of Mr. Oluseye Opasanya (SAN). With the takeover by independent management under AMCON, owned by the Federal Government, the airline stands a chance of not going under, but to rebound and give efficient services to…

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Press association has stated that Cabin crew at British Airways plan to hold a 48-hour strike from Jan. 10 in an ongoing pay dispute, citing the Unite Trade Union. The walkout comes after Unite members voted by 7 to 1 to reject a pay offer from the airline, the report said. Crew called off strikes planned for Christmas Day and Boxing Day to allow for talks at the British conciliation service Acas. “British Airways is needlessly provoking strike action by refusing to extend the mandate of the strike ballot and…

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A major disaster was averted in Canada on Saturday as the pilot of a Boeing 737 allegedly passed out in the cockpit. The pilot has been arrested on suspicion of being drunk. Police in Calgary say Capt. Miroslav Gronych was “behaving oddly before he became unconscious in the cockpit” on Saturday. According to reports, the plane with 99 passengers and six crew members, was scheduled to fly to Regina before heading to Winnipeg and Cancun, Mexico. Gronych, a 37-year-old Slovak national, was charged with having control of an aircraft while…

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The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has fined Arik Air N6 million for the violation of aviation rules in the recent poor handling of luggage belonging to some London passengers. NCAA also mandated the airline to pay the affected passengers the statutory $150 (about N60,000) as compensation for the inconveniences within the next 30 days. It was learnt that Arik Air between December 2 and 4 brought scores of passengers from London to Lagos without their checked-in luggage. NCAA yesterday said the action contravened the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs),…

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The flight operations of Arik Air have been grounded by Aviation unions under the auspices of the National Union of Air Transport Employees, NUATE, Air Transport Senior Staff Services Association of Nigeria, ATSSSAN, National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers, NAAPE, over protracted labour issues. The unions said the picketing of the airline will continue until the management allows total unionisation of its employees in compliance with extant labour laws and with respect to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Also, they want the firm to recall all sacked…

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Nigerian Air passengers on Tuesday were stranded at airports nationwide, as airline operators jostle for aviation fuel, amidst scarcity that is getting worse. The passengers, some of whom were on transit, waited endlessly at the departure hall. While few were lucky to later travel, others were later informed that their scheduled flights had been cancelled. Aviation fuel, otherwise called Jet-A1, is a specialised type of petroleum-based fuel used to power aircraft and normally accounts for over 30 per cent of operation cost of an airline. Jet-A1 is 100 per cent…

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