Category: Aviation

Hadi Sirika, the Minister of State for Aviation, has described the nation’s air transport industry as horrible. The minister expressed his disenchantment while fielding questions from newsmen on the sidelines of the ICAO-AFI Regional Workshop on Improvement of A fundamental Safety Oversight System in the Area of Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation with RASG-AFI States in Abuja. He reiterated that the Federal Government was floating a new national carrier, Nigerian Air, because the industry, currently driven by the private sector, had been unable to provide excellent air transport services for…

Read More

The name of the new national carrier, Nigeria Air, has been unveiled by the Federal Government. The airline, set for take-off on December 24, is largely private investors-owned, with the government owning only five per cent equity. Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, at the unveiling of the name and logo at the ongoing Farnborough Airshow in London yesterday, said the airline would restore the country’s place in global aviation, covering no fewer than 81 local, regional and international routes. Sirika, in the presence of prospective investors, airline manufacturers…

Read More

Alhaji Ahmadu Chanchangi, the Chairman of Chanchangi Airlines, is dead. The Taraba State-born Kaduna-based billionaire died along Kaduna-Abuja Road, on his way to a hospital in Abuja, yesterday morning. Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has extended his condolences to the Chanchangi family, describing the aviation icon as a business mogul and one of Nigeria’s outstanding philanthropists. A family source said: “He died along the road, while we were rushing him to a hospital in Abuja, after a protracted illness. “He will be buried by 2p.m. today (yesterday), according to Islamic rites at…

Read More

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…

Read More

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…

Read More

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…

Read More

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…

Read More

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),…

Read More