FEBRUARY 25, 2023

Apart from the legal tussle that has stalled the take-off of the national carrier, Nigeria Air, there is a new hurdle to be crossed as…

By Abdullateef Aliyu

Apart from the legal tussle that has stalled the take-off of the national carrier, Nigeria Air, there is a new hurdle to be crossed as Ethiopian Airlines is insisting on having an Ethiopian as the pioneer Managing Director of the airline.

The Federal Government of Nigeria already appointed Capt. Dapo Olumide as Interim Managing Director.

Daily Trust reports that the fresh condition has complicated the issues surrounding the take-off of the national carrier with a pending suit filed by the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) yet to be resolved. The domestic airline operators challenged the equity structure of the airline which cedes 49 per cent stake to Ethiopian Airlines with FG having only 5% while the remaining 46% is for Nigerian investors.

Recently, the Ethiopian Airlines told the visiting President Muhammadu Buhari to resolve the legal tussle over the airline.

“But as I am talking to you, the demand by Ethiopian Airlines to appoint the MD is another fresh hurdle for the government to cross,” a source privy to the controversy surrounding the take-off of the national carrier said.

The source said the demand by Ethiopian Airlines to appoint an Ethiopian is in line with its practice with some other national airlines where it has shares in line with its strategic plan to help African countries establish their national airlines.

Daily Trust reports that, for instance, Ethiopians are the Managing Directors of Asky Airlines and Malawi Airlines, two of the African airlines where it has a stake.

When contacted, Dr. James Odaudu, a media aide to the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika declined to comment on the issue.

FEBRUARY 25, 2023

By Wole Oyebade

•Record more delays in 2022 as punctuality drops to 41>#br###•Regulator, operators have no template to solve problem, stakeholders say

One of those criteria by which commercial airlines are assessed globally is schedule reliability – that is, turnaround time and attendant on-time departure. But for most local airlines in Nigeria, the punctuality standard rule is obeyed more in breaches than in compliance.

By the new industry record, about two in every three local flights are now delayed in Nigeria with the entire industry schedule reliability dropping to 41 per cent in 2022.

The implication is more dissatisfied customers and huge loss of revenue despite more people relying on air travel in 2022, and paying between 100 to 200 per cent more for airfares.

Indeed, the local sector is not new to flight delays and cancellations. The malaise, however, reached a new low in 2022. A summary of 2022 industry performance by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), on the overall, showed a market rebound with over 16.17 million passengers recorded on both the domestic (12.7 million) and international (3.5 million) market segments. The 2022 total traffic figure showed a 13 per cent increase when compared with 2021 figures (14.2 million), and the highest passenger traffic since the COVID-19 post-pandemic era.

However, 11 domestic airlines operated 80,328 flights out of which 47,144 were delayed and 795 flights cancelled. A total of 26 airlines operated 13,003 international flights with 4,628 of the flights delayed in 82 cancellations.

The free-fall in schedule reliability, from one in every three the previous year, is also coming in a year airfares ballooned from N35,000 to between N70,000 to N95,000 for less than an hour Economy-class seat, following the spike in the cost of aviation fuel.

Airline operators, though regretting the dismal record, said it boiled down to the same old issues operators had complained about. The airlines, in an earlier push back to National Assembly’s complaints against the carriers’ four to nine hours delays, exactly last year, had blamed airport poor infrastructure and other 15 items for delays.

Airlines Operators of Nigeria (AON) said blaming airlines for factors outside their control was inciting and uncharitable. They said, at least, 80 per cent of flight delays would be eradicated if concerned authorities fix poor airport infrastructure, decongest aprons, expand airport operating hours, tackle fuel scarcity and its rising cost, and reduce Customs’ bottlenecks.

Other factors fingered as causes are: changes in weather, inadequate aircraft parking space due to congested aprons, too many sunset airports that operate between 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. only, flight delays due to VIP movements, bird strikes and foreign object damage to aircraft and scarcity and rising cost of aviation fuel.

The list also has: unavailability of forex for spare parts and maintenance, Customs allegedly delaying clearance of safety critical spare parts, poor air traffic flow, inadequate check-in counters, inadequate screening and exit points at departure, unserviceable baggage claim machines, inadequate and unreliable ground services equipment for boarding and disembarkation of passengers, unruly passengers, lack of runway lights and unforeseen circumstances due to component failures and ground accidents.

The operators said: “AON invites the public to note that if these ‘fixable’ issues were to be solved today by the concerned authorities, the frequent delays passengers experience in the domestic system would immediately reduce by 80 per cent. Industry stakeholder, Babatunde Adeniji, said the report card showed that “we failed as an industry to even make the pass grade”.

“Domestic airlines as a whole were only punctual for 41 per cent of operated flights, with Ibom Air and Green Africa and Value Jet being the outliers among the 11 operators,” he observed.

In a sharp contrast to the yearlong free-fall locally, Adeniji said, a South African-based low-cost carrier, SAFAIR, ended the year as the second most punctual airline in the world (scoring 95.3 per cent) – according to the OAG global report on airline punctuality.

“The NCAA executive summary report lacked the rigour and details of the OAG report. It failed to show correlations or causes for the delays. It was silent on contributory factors/ agencies for controllable delays and sadly limited the report’s usefulness as a tool for conducting root cause analysis or drive improvement.

“The quality of this very important report needs to improve this year and should include commissioned studies on the causes and cost of delays to airlines, passengers, lost demand and indirect economic costs,” he said.

Adeniji drew attention to the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) consideration that airlines are part of an interdependent aviation system, which has to work like clockwork to get passengers to their destinations safely and on-time.

“It takes the position that, any approach to address delays, should involve everyone in the picture – airlines, airports, air traffic management, governments and passengers themselves – so that, together, we can improve on-time performance, and when delays do happen, ensure that passengers are properly cared for.” Unfortunately, nothing has been achieved in terms of such crucial collaboration locally, Adeniji said.

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong might scrap its mask mandate as soon as early March, according to people familiar with the matter, a major step as one of the world’s last Covid holdouts works to reclaim its status as a global business hub.  

An announcement may come as soon as Tuesday, the people said.

Indoor and outdoor mask requirements may be removed at the same time, though face coverings will still need to be worn at high-risk places including hospitals, they said, asking not to be identified as they’re not authorized to speak publicly.

When asked for comment, the health bureau referred Bloomberg to recent remarks from health secretary Lo Chung-mau.

Lo said in a Commercial Radio program on Saturday that authorities are examining data and plan to relax the mask mandate at a suitable time.

Ming Pao and the South China Morning Post both reported earlier that the mandates would be lifted next month, though there was no consensus on exactly when. 

Hong Kong to Give Away 500,000 Air Tickets to Revive Tourism  

Hong Kong last week extended mask regulations by two weeks to March 8, even as it kicked off its pricey “Hello Hong Kong” campaign aimed at luring back visitors. The city is working to bolster its global footing again, giving away air tickets to tourists and again hosting VIP events including Art Basel — but masks have remained a deterrent and undermined the idea that everything is back to normal. 

The measures began almost three years ago as the city fought to keep the virus at bay, and have remained in place even as most of the world drops pandemic-era restrictions. They’re Hong Kong’s last pandemic restrictions, after the city eased most virus curbs and reopened to the world in December following China’s pivot away from Covid Zero. 

Neighboring casino hub Macau eased its own outdoor mask policy starting Monday, saying its Covid situation was stable. 

Hong Kong leader John Lee has repeatedly said he hopes to remove the rule after the winter surge ends, but hasn’t given further specifics. 

--With assistance from Sarah Zheng.

(Updates with expected announcement timing in second paragraph.)

FEBRUARY 28, 2023

(Bloomberg) -- New York City and the Northeast had a slushy start Tuesday as a storm brought the first significant snowfall of the season to the region, grounding hundreds of flights.

Manhattan’s Central Park got 1.8 inches (5 centimeters) overnight, with precipitation likely switching over to rain for the rest of the day, said Rob Carolan, Bloomberg Radio meteorologist and owner of Hometown Forecast Services. 

While a modest accumulation historically for New York, it’s the biggest so far this winter. Snow has been nearly non-existent this season, with the city breaking a 50-year-old record in January for the longest stretch without measurable snow. That’s in part thanks to a La Nina in the Pacific Ocean and a kink in the jet stream that’s pushing storms in the US Northeast away from the coast. 

About 5 inches fell in The Bronx. Queens got 2.5 inches. Areas to the north and west of the city could get upwards to 8 inches, as well as parts of southern New England, according to the National Weather Service. 

Across the US, more than 450 flights were canceled as of 9:15 a.m. New York time, with almost 300 of them going in or out of New York area airports, according to FlightAware, an airline tracking service. Boston also had 84 flights scrubbed and Toronto reported 52 halted.

More snow is possible later this week, but exact amounts aren’t clear yet. 

While it’s the deepest snow of the season, “it’s still not much,” said Bryan Ramsey, a National Weather Service meteorologist in New York. “Anything else we see, at least in New York City, will be liquid.”

(Adds snow totals in the fourth paragraph.)

MARCH 03, 2023

(Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Lufthansa AG joined major European airline companies in predicting an earnings boost this year as travel demand continues to swing back from the coronavirus pandemic.

The region’s biggest airline group said it expects a “significant improvement” on the €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion) adjusted earnings before interest and taxes result it reported for 2022. Summer vacations to Mediterranean countries and travel on North Atlantic routes will be particularly strong, the carrier said.

“Lufthansa is back,” Chief Executive Officer Carsten Spohr said in a statement. “In just one year, we have achieved an unprecedented financial turnaround.”

Lufthansa is the last major European airlines to report earnings for last year, joining Air France-KLM and British Airways parent IAG SA in predicting a recovery approaching pre-pandemic levels in 2023. While European household and company budgets continue to get squeezed by high inflation, demand for business travel and summer getaways in particular has remained robust

Lufthansa rose as much as 48 cents, or 4.9% to €10.34, the highest since early 2020. The stock has gained 32% this year, after advancing 26% in 2022.

The global aviation sector as a whole continues to enjoy a comeback since most countries lifted their coronavirus restrictions. Airbus SE said last month that it’s increasing the rate of production on its largest aircraft to meet rebounding long-haul demand, and budget carriers like Ryanair Holdings Plc have said that summer bookings point to a strong summer season.

Capacity will rise to between 85% to 90% compared with pre-pandemic levels. At the same time, Lufthansa cautioned that persistent bottlenecks in the European aviation system will limit capacity to about 75% in the first quarter.

The airline said it expects to make further progress this year toward hitting its earnings margin target of a minimum of 8% by 2024. Spohr, who had his contract renewed by five years on Thursday, has said the target is required to cut debt Lufthansa incurred during the pandemic, when the airline group was bailed out by the government.

“Lufthansa is coming out of Covid with a better competitive environment on short haul, which we think is sustainable,” Ruxandra Haradau-Doser, an an aviation analyst at Kepler Cheuvreux in Frankfurt, said before the earnings release. At the same time, two thirds of Lufthansa’s short-haul business is transfer traffic, meaning passengers can easily switch to the likes of British Airways or Air France, increasing pressure on Lufthansa to maintain its standards, she said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Thursday.

The previously high earnings at cargo division, which boomed during the pandemic, are set to fall back in 2023 as air freight rates decline. The division reported a record €1.6 billion in adjusted earnings for 2022.

The German carrier on Thursday said it will buy 22 new widebody aircraft from Airbus and Boeing Co. in an order valued at $7.5 billion at list price, as the carrier aims to meet rising long-term demand for intercontinental travel.

Lufthansa said preparations for a possible partial divestiture of its Lufthansa Technik division are proceeding according to plan, adding talks with select investors have begun. The company also said it remains in exclusive talks with Italian officials about its pursuit of Italy’s ITA Airways.

--With assistance from Alix Steel and Guy Johnson.

(Updates with stock reaction in fifth paragraph.)

MARCH 04, 2023

(Bloomberg) -- The UK is preparing for a late-winter blast, with temperatures dropping to unusually low levels in the coming days and snow expected in parts of the country early next week. 

Snow and ice warnings are in place for Monday and Tuesday in northeastern parts of the UK as below-average temperatures are set to slide even further. The heaviest snowfalls will be in northern Scotland, but areas as far south as Lincolnshire will be impacted, the Met Office said Friday.

“Cold, blustery northerly winds will continue to drive frequent showers of snow and hail into these areas on Tuesday,” the national forecaster said.

A relatively mild winter has helped to keep energy prices in check so far this season, though the weather has been occasionally erratic. A cold snap hit parts of the country in December, and England just experienced its driest February in 30 years.

Temperatures in London are expected to be 6C below the seasonal average on Thursday, while in Manchester they will be 5.6C below normal on Wednesday, forecaster Maxar Technologies Inc. said in a daily note.

The late return of cold weather is partially due to a so-called sudden stratospheric warming, which can cause extreme cold in the Northern Hemisphere, according to the Met Office. Meteorologists saw signs of such warming taking place from late last month and expect its colder impacts to continue.

“There’s the risk of more widespread wintry showers into the beginning of next week across northern and eastern areas,” Atmospheric G2’s Amy Hodgson said.

--With assistance from Celia Bergin and William Mathis.

(Updates with latest Met Office forecast in second paragraph)

MARCH 06, 2023

By Prince Okafor

A Lufthansa flight LH566 from Frankfurt to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos, was on Friday diverted to Cotonou, Togo and later to Malabo, capital of Equatorial Guinea, by the pilot.

The pilot had announced to the over 200 passengers on board that the Lagos airport was closed.

Vanguard gathered that among the passengers, 15 Malabo-bound passengers were scheduled to arrive Lagos by 5:45pm on March 3, before flying to Equatorial Guinea capital.

But the flight later arrived Lagos at 2a.m. on March 4.

However, findings showed that the Lagos airport was not closed at any time on March 3.

One of the passengers, who preferred to remain anonymous, while narrating the situation said: "We left Frankfurt on March 2, by 12 noon to Lagos and Malabo in Equatorial Guinea.

"This flight was supposed to be at Lagos by 5.45p.m. On getting to Lagos, the pilot told us that they couldn't land because the Lagos airport was closed.

"He took us to Contonou airport and landed waiting for Lagos airport to open. We were there for almost three hours.

"During this time, relatives waiting for the flight were panicky. Then individuals were now making calls to relatives asking what was happening in the Lagos airport.

"It was then we realised that Lagos airport was not closed. We now demanded that the pilot take us to Lagos.

"After much argument, the pilot told us he was taking us to Malabo, to drop the 15 passengers before coming back to Lagos to drop over 200 passengers.

"This was what the pilot did. We now landed at 2am. When we said we won't come down on arrival at Lagos without the airline making a proper arrangement for us, the pilot threatened us and said he would call the police to evacuate us."

Lufthansa's memo

In response to the development, Lufthansa management issued a notice to the Frankfurt-bound passengers from Lagos.

The circular dated March 3, 2023, stated, "Dear Lufthansa guest, unfortunately, your flight LH569/3 March from Lagos to Frankfurt is delayed due to operational reason.

"The incoming aircraft has been diverted and to land in Cotonou (Benin) and then to Malabo (Equatorial Guinea) before reaching Lagos destination.

"Lufthansa would like to sincerely apologise for this delay and any inconvenience it may have caused to your journey.

"We have now planned an arrival of the aircraft in Lagos around 01:15 (it arrived 2am) and we would do our best to manage quick turnaround."

Meanwhile, the General Manager, Public Affairs, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mrs. Faithful Hope-Ivbaze, in a swift reaction said: "There was never a day/time that MMA was closed.

"I will let you know if there will be any closure in the coming days."

Airlines that arrive between from 4p.m. and 7p.m. to the MMIA everyday include Lufthansa, KLM, Air France, British Airways and others.

MARCH 09, 2023

By Dayo Oyewo

An unspecified number of people have been injured after a passenger train crushed a Lagos State Government staff bus on its way from Ikotun enroute Alausa, the state secretariat, at the PWD area of the state.

The accident happened around past 7am on Thursday.

The spokesperson for the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Taofiq Adebayo, said rescue operation was ongoing.

“The accident recorded many casualties as the bus is fully loaded with Lagos State government staff members going to the office this morning.”

Details later…

Photos from the scene of the accident below:

Details later…

MARCH 09, 2023

BY  Olamide Ologunagbe

Air passenger traffic in Africa’s biggest economy rose by eight percent to 16.2 million last year, up from 15 million in 2021, according to BusinessDay’s analysis of the air traffic data released by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

Despite the surge in passenger numbers, the figures are still well below the pre-pandemic levels recorded in 2019. A total of 18.1 million passengers passed through Nigerian airports in 2019.

The gradual return to air travel in Nigeria can be attributed to the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions and the full reopening of the global economy.

However, the country’s aviation industry is still facing challenges, including the rising cost of aviation fuel, high airport charges, and the shortage of skilled personnel that has continued to hinder its full recovery post-pandemic.

“The issue of trapped funds affecting international airlines is what has prompted the hike in air fares, making airfares exorbitant again, unlike four years ago,” said Susan Akporiaye, president of National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies.

The data released by the NCAA also showed that there has been a steady increase in passenger traffic since the height of the pandemic in 2020.

In January 2020, a total of 1.5 million passengers travelled by air as countries closed their borders to curtail the spread of the virus.

The figure rose to 15 million in 2021, when countries began reopening their borders, a 900 percent rise in passenger traffic when compared to 1.5 million passengers in 2020.

The talent exodus from the country, popularly known as ‘japa’, boosted the number of outbound international passengers in 2022 to 1.8 million passengers, recording over a 700,000 increase compared to 2021.

According to the NCAA, the number of outbound passengers had increased by 54.7 percent in 2021 to 1.1 million from 717,261 passengers in 2020.

Read also: Inbound travellers squeezed on naira scarcity

Akporiaye said there has been an increase in the number of people wanting to leave the country, especially in 2022, which led to a sharp rise in passenger traffic.

“People are travelling more to leave the country and not return due to economic insecurity,” she said.

Inbound international passenger traffic was 1.6 million in 2022, a 45.5 percent increase when compared to 1.1 million passengers in 2021.

Domestic airlines airlifted a total of 12.67 million passengers, made up of 6.31 million inbound travellers and 6.36 million outbound ones.

The data also showed that in 2022, 26 airlines carried out a total of 13,003 international operations to and from Nigeria while 11 airlines operated 80,328 domestic flights.

In 2022, 37 airlines flew over Nigeria, with 26 airlines running 13,003 foreign flights and 11 airlines operating 80,328 domestic flights.

MARCH 09, 2023

By Funmilayo Fabunmi

African airlines have recorded a 124 per cent growth in passenger traffic in the past year, the  International Air Transport Association has said.

The Switzerland-based IATA, which represents international airlines globally, said the recovery in air travel demand was continuing in 2023, based on January traffic results.

It said that in January 2023, African airlines’ passenger traffic rose by 124 per cent.

“African airlines’ traffic rose 124.8 per cent in January 2023 versus a year ago. January capacity was up 82.5 per cent and load factor climbed 13.9 percentage points to 73.7 per cent, the lowest among regions,” IATA said in a statement on Wednesday.

Globally, traffic is now at 84.2 per cent of January 2019 levels with domestic traffic for January 2023 rising up to 32.7 per cent compared to the prior year, according to the airline body.

It said the growth was aided by the lifting of the zero-COVID policy in China. Total January 2023 domestic traffic was at 97.4 per cent of the January 2019 level.

Also, IATA said international traffic climbed by 104.0 per cent versus January 2022 with all markets recording strong growth, led by carriers in the Asia-Pacific region. International RPKs reached 77.0 per cent of January 2019 levels.