Aviationages

By Ariyo Akinfenwa Recently, the National Assembly (Senate and House of Representatives) of the country passed a bill approving the upgrade of the act establishing the Accident Investigation Bureau of Nigeria (AIB-N), an agency in charge of only aircraft accidents and incidents investigation and prevention; which is awaiting the assent of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari.   The repealed act has expanded the scope of the AIB-N to metamorphosed into Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB which will include Maritime and Rail sectors, leaving the Road sector out is a concern, especially with the knowledge that all transport sectors (Air, Maritime, Rail and Road) were meant to be in the new multi-modal agency at proposal stage.   The Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of AIB-N, Engr. Akin Olateru reeling out the relevance of the new agency to all transport said: “The NSIB would reinforce safety in all modes of transportation in Nigeria t

The management of Dana Air has elaborately explained and apologised for shortcomings on service delivery recently. The Deputy Chief Executive Office (DCEO) of the airline, Mr. Sukhjinder Mann on behalf of the management conveyed apologies to passengers especially those affected on March 1.   “I accept that our recent disruptions due ramp congestion, bad weather, and most recently, scarcity of fuel would have affected your plans and I understand how frustrating it would have been for you to contact our customer service representative to reschedule your flight or having to wait in some instances, but I would like to reassure you that all your feedback has not gone unnoticed regardless of how you sent them,” said Mann.   Detailed explanation on what the airline is facing presently and what they are doing to ameliorate the situation Mann said: “On fuel scarcity, we are working with our partners to significantly mitigate the challenge and I am pleased to advise that we have made major inroa

The realisation of projects for Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika have always been tough nuts to crack. A case in mind was the rehabilitation of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja  between March 8 to April 19, 2017. The minister in the heat of doubts by aviation stakeholders, engineers, international and domestic airlines poked to put his job on the line and he threatened to resign his position as the Minister if the project is not delivered on record time..    Concerning Nigeria Air, Sirika is not putting his job on the line, maybe he is used to pessimism and cynicism which the environment is throwing at federal ideas and projects. The people are not to be blamed really, because governments have failed to earn the trust of the citizenry by not providing the basics of amenities despite promises; hence doubts on bigger projects such as setting up a national airline.   Despite pressure and criticisms from the launch of the Nigeria Air dream in Farnborough Engl

  Nigeria’s Xejet Aviation has taken delivery of an Embraer ERJ145 recently from ACIA Aero Leasing (“ACIA”), a leading provider of regional aircraft leasing and lease management services. ACIA made the announcement of the delivery of ‘a single Embraer ERJ145 on lease to Xejet Aviation (“Xejet”), a fast-growing, start-up airline based in Lagos, Nigeria.’ The aircraft, ACIA Aero said is to support Business Class Only carrier’s vision to be Nigeria’s go-to airline for smart and cost-effective premium air travel     The airline recently received its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to commence premium services soon. The aircraft with registration number 5N-BZN has since arrived the Murtala Muhammed Airport Lagos.   The regional jet, configured with 50 seats in a single-class layout, was delivered joining the carrier’s fleet that currently consists of one additional ERJ145 alongside a Boeing B737-500. The ERJ145 will support the airline’s grow

The International Civil aviation Organisation(ICAO) said the leadership headed by the ICAO Council President,   Salvatore Sciacchitano  and the Secretary General,   Juan Carlos Salazar, was briefed on the Ukrainian airspace status in the midst of ongoing military fracas between Russia and Ukraine at its headquarters in Montreal, Canada yesterday.   “ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano, together with ICAO Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar, met yesterday with Ukraine’s First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Emine Dzhaparova, and other senior officials,” said ICAO Headquaters. “ICAO’s leadership was informed during the meeting on the operational status of Ukrainian airspace and noted the information provided.”   The relationship of Russia and Ukraine is strain and currently the airspace of both countries are not in good shape in terms of safety of civil aviation activities.

Dana Air has disclosed its strategic partnership with Travelstart, Africa's largest online travel agency, on seamless booking and exciting deals to provide customers with smart fares as soon as the ongoing systems integration is concluded. The disclosure was made known during a courtesy visit by the Global Chief Operating Officer of Travelstart, Amanpreet Singh from South Africa and the Country Manager Travelstart Nigeria, Bukky Akomolafe to Dana Air recently. Speaking during the courtesy visit, the Chief Operating Officer of Travelstart, Amanpreet Singh said, ''Dana Air is a huge player in the Nigerian market and one of our biggest clients. With the continuously growing demand for Dana Air tickets on our platforms, we felt the need to enter into this integration to provide seamless booking options for our customers, which will in turn make it easy for us to also partner on very exciting deals for local air travelers.'' Singh noted that Dana Air has a lot of custome