Aviationages

  The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says it looks forward to the entry into force of the all-important treaty ‘Montreal Protocol 2014 (MP14)’ on 1 January 2020. IATA said in a statement after ratification by Nigeria that, “MP14 enhances the capacity of states to curb the escalation in the severity and frequency of unruly behavior on board aircraft.” Being the Twenty-second member of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Council out of the 36 needed to ratify the treaty and deposited in the United Nation’s agency this week, Nigeria has done the historic feat to boost the implementation of the ‘The Montreal Protocol 2014.’ Also acknowledged by IATA as it said:   “This follows the 26 November 2019 ratification of MP14 by Nigeria, the 22nd state to do so.”   “MP14, properly named the Protocol to Amend the Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft, is a global treaty that strengthens the powers of states to prose

In preparation for the expectant hazy weather towards the end of the year, aviation regulator in the Nigeria has advised airlines and pilots to take precautions before embarking on any operation during the period. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has made public the issuance of ‘Advisory Circular to intimate pilots, operators and other stakeholders about dust haze (harmattan) and safety approach to adopt.’ “This Advisory Circular AC: NCAA-AEROMET-28 dated 12th November, 2019 is intended to alert Pilots to the hazards associated with dust haze which is a dry and dusty wind that blows south from the Sahara across Nigeria. This situation is expected to persist till March, 2020,”said Sam Adurogboye, the spokesperson of the agency. “As issued by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency in its Seasonal Rainfall Prediction Bulletin-2019, the cessation of the rainy season is predicted from mid-October (in the Northern part) to early December, 2019 (in the Southern part)

Sen, Hadi Sirika, Nigeria's Minister of Aviation and Dr. Fang Liu, Secretary General to ICAO at the event marking the deposit of ratification of Montreal Protocol 2014 in Montreal Canada yesterday. It was another historic moment in the history of Nigeria aviation when, the Honourable Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, deposited ratification on ‘Protocol to Amend the Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft, done at Montreal on 4 April 2014’ also known as “The Montreal Protocol 2014”, with the International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO on the 26 November 2019 at the United Nation agency’s headquarters in Montreal, Canada. In a statement by James Odaudu, Director Public Affairs to the Ministry of Aviation said: “This feat is in line with Nigeria’s efforts to support air laws against unruly behavior on board aircraft.” While depositing the Montreal Protocol 2014 Sen. Sirika sa

Dr. Fang Liu. ICAO Secretary-General(left); Mr. Salvatore Sciacchitano (middle) and Dr. Benard Aliu, the outgoing president (right) immediately after the election at the ICAO Headquaters in Montreal, Canada. Photo:ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organisation ICAO  has announced the election of Mr. Salvatore Sciacchitano, the representative of Italy by the 36-member council as the Sixth ICAO Council President. He won the keenly contested election with 19 votes, while Captain Aysha Alhameli of United Arab Emirates who was a strong contestant got 13 votes. “The 36-member governing body of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the ICAO Council, has elected Mr. Salvatore Sciacchitano of Italy as its President for a three-year term, beginning 1 January 2020,”said ICAO “He succeeds Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu of Nigeria, who has held the position for two consecutive terms since 2014.” ICAO said: “Mr. Sciacchitano’s candidacy had been endorsed by the 44

The International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO Council is at the verge of electing a new president for the period of 3-year tenure today (25th November, 2019). The candidates vying for the civil aviation highest office are: Captain Aysha Alhameli (United Arab Emirates); Mr. Salvatore Sciacchitano (Italy) and   Mr. Bakyt Dzhunushaliev, (Kyrgyzstan). Aviationage spoke extensively with the candidates from Italy (Salvatore) and UAE (Aysha) on their thought concerning the top aviation job. Captain Aysha Captain Aysha Alhameli (United Arab Emirates) As the first female to make history if elected as the next president, Capt. Alhameli said: “I have been in this organization as a United Arab Emirates Representative for over 10 year. I worked very closely with Mr. Roberto Kobeh and the current president Dr. Aliu. I would say, I have been mentored and I worked together on many project with both presidents. I had the honour to work for 6 years with Dr. Aliu on many initiatives an

…Onyema Denies Allegation … Air Peace Company Lawyer Responds … “The Indictment Only Contains Charges”-DoJ The United States of America’s Department of Justice in Northern District of Georgia has charged   Chief Allen   Onyema, the Chairman, CEO, and founder of Air Peace, with bank fraud and money laundering for ‘moving more than $20 million from Nigeria through United States bank accounts in a scheme involving false documents based on the purchase of airplanes.   The international airline’s Chief of Administration and Finance, Ejiroghene Eghagha, has also been charged with bank fraud and committing aggravated identity theft in connection with the scheme.” Chief Allen Onyema, Air Peace Chairman/CEO “Onyema allegedly leveraged his status as a prominent business leader and airline executive while using falsified documents to commit fraud,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “We will diligently protect the integrity our banking system from being corrupted b

…Adds B737-800NG To Fleet   B737-800NG Added to Air Peace Fleet at Lagos Airport. Photo: Air Peace   Air Peace in its route expansion has announced plan to commence Kano-Owerri-Kano flight effective from Tuesday, November 26, 2019. The airline’s Corporate Communications Executive, Stanley Olisa, disclosed this in a statement released on Wednesday, November 20, 2019. Olisa revealed that the flight days are Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. He noted that Air Peace has provided a direct connectivity between the two destinations, adding that passengers do not have to travel from Kano to Lagos or Abuja to connect a flight to Owerri. “It is our promise to interconnect every part of this country. This is our gift to the unity of our nation. Be assured we are coming with more destinations”, the airline’s spokesperson said. According to him, ‘It is part of our vision to create more seamless connections and network options for our esteemed customers across Nigeria, and we can

President Muhammadu Buhari presenting award to Mrs. Josephine Ugwu in Abuja recently   The President of the Federal Republic Of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari presented award of recognition to Mrs. Josephine Ugwu, a staff of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN who found and returned $12,200,000 at Murtala Muhammed Airport Lagos in 2015 while working as a cleaner at the time. According to Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu, the General Manager Corporate Affairs to FAAN said, “Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), recognized a staff of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Mrs. Josephine Ugwu for her honesty and integrity in the discharge of her duties.” Mrs. Yakubu said Ugwu was presented with the award at a two day summit on 'Diminishing Corruption in the Public Sector' jointly organized by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and ICPC in Abuja. “You will recall that in a celebrated case in the yea

The Federal Republic of Nigeria’s contribution to continental aviation development is being recognized by the African continent’s civil aviation regulator, African Civil Aviation Commission, AFCAC. According to James Odaudu, Director of Public Affairsat the Nigeria’s Ministry of Aviation, “This feat by Nigeria was made public at the just concluded 50th Anniversary celebration of the African Civil Aviation Commission in Dakar, Senegal- with the presentation of Certificate of Recognition.” During the presentation of the award,   the Secretary General of the Commission, Tefera Mekonnen Tefera commented that, “the honour was in recognition of Nigeria's outstanding support provided to AFCAC over the past 50 years, and urged it to keep providing the required leadership to the Commission.” Receiving the award on behalf of the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, Nigeria's immediate past representative at the International Civil Aviation organisation (ICAO), C

In her quest to establish a National Carrier Republic of Ghana and Boeing has signed a Memorandum of Understanding on three airplanes with a list price value of $877.5 million. The West African country is also going for Six (6) Dash 8-400 from De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited. Both deals were sealed at the ongoing Dubai Air Show. Boeing said the MoU with Ghana is in line with the country’s desire at she   ‘intends to re-launch an airline starting with the 787-9 Dreamliner.’ "There is a growing demand for air travel to and from Ghana and we believe the advanced 787-9 Dreamliner gives us an efficient and flexible machine to launch a regional network and eventually serve international destinations in the future," said Joseph Kofi Adda, Honorable Minister of Aviation and Member of Parliament, Republic of Ghana. "The 787 has an excellent reputation for its operational performance, fuel efficiency and passenger experience and we are confident that w

South African Airways is reinstating flight operations to Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia, Mozambique,   Namibia and Zimbabwe capitals from tomorrow after the shut down of its services due to industrial dispute with its workers. SAA announcing its intention, said it will resume ‘flights to six destinations on the African continent, namely Accra, Lagos, Lusaka, Maputo, Windhoek and Harare, with effect from Tuesday, 19 November 2019.’ The airline said the resumption of flights to the African nations is in ‘addition to all SAA’s International flights,    which are now fully operational. SAA would like to record its appreciation for those staff deciding to work despite receiving threats and intimidation from the unions. It is clear that SAA’s people are increasingly determined to put our customers first.’   “We are pleased that SAA is now able to increase services and to offer our customers more flights on the African continent, and that all our International flights are back on sche

Still in the mood of celebration, Dana Air announced over the weekend that it has airlifted 5.4 million passengers in the last 11 years of its operations. The airline promises to double the figure with route expansion plan owing to increase in fleet size. Kingsley Ezenwa, the carrier’s Media and Communications Manager said in a statement that the airline, ‘hopes to double the figure by sustaining its operational efficiency, increasing its fleet size, maintaining its record on-time performance, and raising the bar of its excellent service delivery in the coming years.’ “Having completed a commercial analysis of our loads in the last 11 years and confirmed it to stand at 5.4 million, we have set the ball rolling for the next 9 years. We have commenced reviewing plans and we intend to raise the bar of our operational efficiency, increase our fleet, and improve on our excellent service delivery to remain on top and keep the commitment and loyalty of our staff and guests”

In a move to resume operations in Nigeria soon, Med-View Airline received one of its aircraft, a Boeing 737-500 with the registration number: 5N-BQM on Sunday back from maintenance as the equipment arrived the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos from Abuja Airport via the Kaduna International Airport. Med-View Airline's aircraft packed at Lagos airport A sources who is aware of the airline’s move aviation correspondent on Sunday that the aircraft’s engine was last week replaced in Abuja and the aircraft has gone through test flight. The aircraft, which departed Kaduna International Airport, touched down at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos at 5pm on Sunday. With the arrival of the new engine and subsequent fixing, it was gathered that the airline would resume flight operations soon. It would be recalled that Mr. Michael Ajigbotoso, the Chief Operating Officer (COO), Med-View Airline had about two weeks ago reiterated the plans of the airl

… “The first delivery is scheduled for the second quarter of 2020”-Embraer L-R: Ejiroghene Eghagha, Air Peace Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and John Slattery, President and CEO, Embraer Commercial Aviation. Photo: Embraer Air Peace has ordered three additional Embraer E195-E2s at the ongoing Dubai Air Show valued at USD 212.6 million. Embraer while announcing the in Dubai said the order is confirming purchase rights from the original contract, signed in April this year.’   “These new E195-E2s will be included in Embraer’s 2019 fourth-quarter backlog and have a value of USD 212.6 million, based on Embraer’s current list prices.” Embraer further commented that Air Peace is set to be the first E-Jets E2 operator in Africa. “ Air Peace’s firm order, announced in April this year, is now for 13 E195-E2s with 17 purchase rights for the same model. The first delivery is scheduled for the second quarter of 2020.” “The E195-E2 is the perfect aircraft to expand our opera

  The management of Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), operators of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two (MMA2) in Lagos, did not allow good conducts go unnoticed as it rewarded two of its Aviation Security (AVSEC) staff who returned missing items belonging to air passengers recently.   According to Bi-Courtney in a statement by Ayotunde Osowe of the Corporate Communications said: “One of the said employees, Mr Babatunde Ajala, was deployed to work at the Departure entrance 2 on Friday, April 12, during which he sighted an unaccompanied brown leather bag.”   L-R: Head of AVSEC, BASL, Mr Olatubosun Okeowo, Mr Kenneth Mamah, supervisor at MMA2; Mr Henry Akhile, Mr Babatunde Ajala, Mr Taiwo Adelakun, supervisor and Mr Ibrahim Ali another supervisor...during the award presentation at MMA2. “Out of curiosity, he picked up the bag having realised the owner was nowhere to be found. After close examination, a sum of Three Hundred Thousand Naira, Two i

The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), a Nigerian agency saddled with the responsibility of investigating air accidents and incidents has made public preliminary reports on serious incidents involving three aircraft owned and operated by Air Peace.  “The preliminary reports are not the final reports as they contain details of the initial facts, discussions and findings surrounding the occurrences; which include information gathered from witness statements, flight recorders, Health and Usage Monitoring System (HUMS) Data, Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) data, and preliminary inspection of the accident sites and the wreckages,” said Tunji Oketunmbi, the bureau’s spokesperson. “Therefore, the investigations on these serious incidents are still ongoing and final reports on these occurrences will be released at the conclusion of these investigations.” The reports released by AIB included the serious incident involving Air Peace Limited B737-300 aircraft with nationality and regi