Travel News

he European Union has approved scanners capable of reliably detecting liquid explosives, an EU Commission spokeswoman told dpa, potentially paving the way for the lifting of long-standing restrictions on liquids in carry-on luggage.

The spokeswoman confirmed that the new CT scanners, similar to those used in medical imaging, can reliably identify threats and theoretically allow passengers to carry larger bottles. It is now up to individual airports to adopt the technology, she added.

However, implementation - especially in Germany - is set to take time due to outdated equipment and technical hurdles.

At Germany's Frankfurt Airport, 40 of about 190 security lanes are equipped with the new systems, with 40 more on order, a spokeswoman said.

However, passengers still face the 100-millilitre limit because it's unclear which scanner will inspect their bags - and some of the new devices are still missing the necessary software.

Munich Airport faces similar delays, with software upgrades postponed until after the busy holiday season.

Currently, passengers must not carry liquids exceeding 100 millilitres, with containers to be placed inside a resealable transparent plastic bag holding no more than 1 litre in total.

This rule was introduced in 2006 after authorities foiled a terror plot involving liquid explosives smuggled aboard a plane.

Roughly 700 scanners using the new software are currently in use or being installed across 21 EU countries, according to the EU Commission.

A spokeswoman for Germany's airport association ADV said full nationwide rollout is complex and expensive, requiring not just the new equipment but structural modifications due to the machines' larger size.

By Jide Ajia

Passengers at Nigeria’s international airports can look forward to functional Wi-Fi services, at least in Terminal 2, by late 2025.

This assurance came from the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, during a live interview on Channels Television on Sunday, where he shed light on the long-standing issue of internet connectivity at the nation’s aviation hubs.

For years, the absence of Wi-Fi at Nigerian international airports has been a point of frustration for travellers, a situation highlighted by the interviewer who noted Nigeria’s position among major African, European, and American airports in this regard.

Keyamo attributed the delay to a “number of factors,” primarily an internal dispute between two key agencies under his ministry: the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency and the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria.

Keyamo confirmed that funds for “major infrastructure” required for Wi-Fi operation have been included in the 2025 budget.

By Dorcas Marfo

Canadians are increasingly exploring citizenships through real estate investment – not for better visa access but for lifestyle, flexibility and future security, according to experts.

Five countries in the eastern Caribbean are no longer marketing their endless beaches as the only selling point. Instead, the drive to get citizens abroad to purchase a home or make a donation in exchange for a passport has been a popular trend.

Islands that offer citizenship by investment (CBI) programs include Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and Grenada.

Eric Major, CEO of Latitude Consultancy, a U.K.-based global firm that specializes in citizenship and residency-by-investment, explained to CTVNews.ca that the Caribbean’s CBI program first launched in St. Kitts and Nevis in the mid-1980s and has matured into pathways for acquiring second citizenship.

These programs typically allow applicants to either invest in government-approved real estate or make a donation to a national fund.

“Canadians and Americans seem to be favouring the real estate route,” said Major. “It’s actually a place they wouldn’t mind spending time in.”

According to Major, clients have to disclose a lot of information about them. “You have to hire a licenced firm like ours,” he explained. “The application is four inches thick. It includes (a) medical exam, background checks, proof of funds and now even an interview to confirm identity.”

Major said the government takes three to nine months to review before making a decision to approve or deny an application. In this process, a due diligence firm is hired to validate the applicant’s information.

Once approved, applicants must complete their investment – which usually has a minimum threshold and ranges between US$270,000 to US$300,000 for real estate – before receiving their certificate of registration and ultimately a passport.

While there have been concerns with the idea of “buying citizenship,” Major said these programs are a vital economic tool for small island nations. “In some cases, it accounts for as much as 50 per cent of their GDP,” he noted.

“The reality of these islands is that, other than tourism, there’s very few things that they could offer to generate economic activity,” Major said.

For most global applicants, this process results in a better passport. Major said most of the applicants for these programs come from countries with poor passports in terms of visa-free travel.

“The Caribbean passports offer visa-free travel to 150-plus countries, including the EU, U.K. and Singapore,” Major said. “That’s appealing if you’re from countries like Nigeria, Pakistan or Vietnam.”

But Canadians are different. “Canadians already have strong passports,” Major said. “So, their motivations are usually one of three things: lifestyle, tax planning or a Plan B (like) security if things become unstable at home or abroad.”

Jennifer Harding-Marlin, a licenced citizenship-by-investment lawyer with JH Marlin Law based in St. Kitts and Nevis, said, “There’s a lot of Canadians and Americans that are looking to get another citizenship. More people are looking for a holiday destination that’s outside of traditional Florida or Cuba. Countries in eastern Caribbean are becoming more popular.”

No legal red tape

For Canadians considering CBI programs in the Caribbean, there’s no legal red tape when it comes to holding multiple passports. In fact, Canadian law permits dual and multiple citizenships without restrictions.

Major said the federal government doesn’t limit the number of nationalities a citizen can acquire, which makes programs like those offered by these five Caribbean nations appealing for Canadians looking for a lifestyle upgrade, an offshore home or a backup plan in uncertain times.

Where Canada does take notice is the realm of taxation, Major said.

“Having a passport doesn’t make you a taxable person. What makes me liable for tax in Canada is if I spend a certain amount of time there, typically six months or more.”

Red flags might be raised by the federal government if individuals maintain bank accounts, driver’s licences or other personal ties in the country, Major explained.

Harding-Marlin said citizenship by investment and residency by investment are two different routes.

Residency by investment (RBI), also known as “golden visas,” allows foreign nationals to obtain legal residence status, not full citizenship, in a country by investing in real estate, businesses or government bonds.

“It’s important to get proper tax advice when deciding to relocate or changing your tax status,” she said.

New Caribbean measures

According to the Eastern Caribbean Citizenship by Investment Regulatory Authority (ECCIRA), a new draft legislative framework proposes a minimum 30-day physical presence requirement for successful applicants within the first five years of acquiring their citizenship.

The rule, released July 1, would apply to all five participating countries.

If an applicant or citizen does not meet the 30-day requirement without a valid reason, the country can charge them a fine of up to 10 per cent of their investment amount and start the process to take away their passport following that country’s laws, the proposal said.

Canada’s investment immigration

Major said Canada should look into bringing back investment-based citizenship programs.

“With this world of visas, including passports, golden visas and investment visas, there’s a lot of developments happening there,” he said referencing Caribbean programs. “We’re hopeful that Prime Minister Carney is going to revitalize the old Canadian Immigrant Investor Program.”

The program, which allowed wealthy individuals to gain permanent residency in exchange for significant financial investment, was scrapped in 2014 under a previous government.

But Major believes renewed interest in the wake of geopolitical alliances, trade tensions and economic uncertainty could put pressure on Ottawa to re-enter the space.

Major added that the demand for second citizenships is no longer driven by emerging markets. “Our number one source of market for second citizenship is Americans,” he said, calling the sector “a growing industry (with) lots of interesting developments.”

Harding-Marlin said it could bring in revenue and attract wealthy individuals, business owners and experts in their fields.

“Canada could potentially seek the benefits that other countries are seeing through their citizenship investment programs,” she said.

BY  Gemma Handy

Business reporter

• Published 28 July 2025

Scroll through homes for sale in the Eastern Caribbean and it is no longer just bewitching beaches and a laid-back lifestyle being touted to woo buyers.

More and more property listings are offering a passport too – and political and social volatility in the US is said to be fuelling an upsurge in interest.

Five of the region's island nations – Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, and St Lucia – offer such citizenship by investment (CBI) from as little as $200,000 (£145,000).

Buy a home, and you also get a passport that grants the holder visa-free access to up to 150 countries including Europe's Schengen area, and for all but Dominica, to the UK too.

For the wealthy, the islands' absence of taxes such as capital gains and inheritance, and in some cases on income too, is another major draw. And all five of the region's schemes allow buyers to retain their existing citizenship.

In Antigua, estate agents are struggling to keep up with demand, says Nadia Dyson, owner of Luxury Locations. "Up to 70% of all buyers right now are wanting citizenship, and the vast majority are from the US," she tells the BBC.

"We don't talk politics with them, but the unstable political landscape [in the US] is definitely a factor.

"This time last year, it was all lifestyle buyers and a few CBI. Now they're all saying 'I want a house with citizenship'. We've never sold so many before."

Despite Antigua's programme having no residency requirement, some purchasers are looking to relocate full-time, Ms Dyson says, adding: "A few have relocated already."

US citizens account for the bulk of CBI applications in the Caribbean over the past year, according to investment migration experts Henley & Partners.

Ukraine, Turkey, Nigeria and China are among the other most frequent countries of origin of applicants, says the UK firm which has offices around the world.

It adds that overall applications for Caribbean CBI programmes have increased by 12% since the fourth quarter of 2024.

Everything from gun violence to antisemitism is putting Americans on tenterhooks, according to the consultancy's Dominic Volek.

"Around 10-15% actually relocate. For most it's an insurance policy against whatever they're concerned about. Having a second citizenship is a good back-up plan," he explains.

Mr Volek says the ease-of-travel advantages the Caribbean passports provide appeals to businesspeople, and may also present a security benefit. "Some US clients prefer to travel on a more politically-benign passport."

Prior to the Covid pandemic, the US was not even on Henley's "radar", Mr Volek continues.

Movement restrictions proved "quite a shock" for affluent people used to travelling freely on private jets, prompting the first surge in stateside CBI applications. Interest ratcheted up again after the 2020 and 2024 US elections.

"There are Democrats that don't like Trump but also Republicans that don't like Democrats," Mr Volek says.

"In the last two years we've gone from having zero offices in the US to eight across all major cities, with another two to three opening in the coming months."

Robert Taylor, from Halifax in Canada, bought a property in Antigua where he plans to retire later this year.

He invested $200,000 just before the real estate threshold was raised to $300,000 last summer.

Not only does being a citizen avoid restrictions on length of stay, it also gives him the freedom to take advantage of business opportunities, he explains. "I chose Antigua because it has beautiful water, I find the people very, very friendly and it also means great weather for the later part of my life."

Still, such programmes are not without controversy. When passport sales were first mooted in 2012 by the then Antiguan government as a way of propping up the ailing economy, some considered the ethics a little iffy.

Protesters took to the streets in condemnation, recalls former Speaker of the House Gisele Isaac. "There was a sense of nationalism; people felt we were selling our identity, so to speak, to people who knew nothing about us," she says.

Leaders of some other Caribbean nations that do not offer CBIs have also been quick to criticise, including St Vincent and the Grenadines' Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves. He has previously said citizenship should not be "a commodity for sale".

Among the international community, there are fears that lax oversight may help criminals get through their borders.

The European Union has threatened to withdraw its coveted visa-free access for Caribbean CBI countries, while the US has previously raised concerns over the potential for such schemes to be used as a vehicle for tax evasion and financial crime.

A European Commission spokesperson tells the BBC that it is "monitoring" the five Caribbean schemes, and has been in talks with their respective authorities since 2022.

She says an ongoing assessment is seeking to substantiate if citizenship by investment constitutes "an abuse of the visa-free regime those countries enjoy vis-à-vis the EU and whether it is likely to lead to security risks for the EU".

The Commission has acknowledged reforms carried out by the islands, which it says will have an impact on its evaluation.

For their part, the five Caribbean nations have reacted angrily to claims that they are not doing enough to scrutinise applicants.

Dominica's Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has described his country's CBI programme as "sound and transparent", adding authorities had worked hard to ensure its integrity.

The government says passport sales have raised more than $1bn since the initiative's inception in 1993, paying for vital infrastructure including a state-of-the-art hospital.

In St Lucia, Prime Minister Philip J Pierre says the island adheres to the highest standards of security to ensure its CBI does not inadvertently aid illicit activities.

The need to appease the world's superpowers with raising revenue is a delicate balancing act for small Caribbean nations with meagre resources, dependent on the whims of tourism.

CBI programmes were labelled a lifeline at a regional industry summit in April, with funds used for everything from cleaning up after natural disasters to shoring up national pension schemes. Antigua's Prime Minister Gaston Browne said money raised had brought his country back from the brink of bankruptcy over the past decade.

Aside from buying property, other routes to Caribbean citizenship through investment typically include a one-off donation to a national development fund or similar. They range from $200,000 in Dominica for a single applicant, to $250,000 for a main applicant and up to three qualifying dependents in Dominica and St Kitts. In Antigua, investors also have the option of donating $260,000 to the University of the West Indies.

In the face of international pressure, the islands have committed to new measures to bolster oversight, including establishing a regional regulator to set standards, monitor operations and ensure compliance.

Additionally, six principles agreed with the US include enhanced due diligence, regular audits, mandatory interviews with all applicants, and the removal of a loophole that previously enabled an applicant denied by one country to apply in another.

These days, passport sales account for 10-30% of the islands' GDP.

Andre Huie, a journalist in St Kitts, says his country's CBI scheme is "generally well supported" as a result. "The public understand the value of it to the economy, and appreciate what the government has been able to do with the money."

The UK government said it would begin detaining small-boat migrants “within days” to be sent back to France, as the two countries prepared to formalize a “one in, one out” treaty on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer reached an agreement with France’s premier Emmanuel Macron last month to send an unspecified number of migrants crossing the English Channel on illegal small boats back to France, in return for accepting the same number of migrants from France who haven’t already tried to make the crossing.

In the latest in a series of anti-immigration policies, the Trump administration has announced a pilot measure to require some visa applicants to put down a $15,000 (€12,901) deposit.

The decision, published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, will be tested for a year starting 20 August and aims to ensure that visitors adhere to the legally prescribed length of stay.

According to the US State Department, the bond will only be refunded after the visa holder leaves the US and their visa expires.

Travellers head to the security checkpoint at Denver International Airport. David Zalubowski/ AP

The US State Department has said the pilot will so far include Zambia and Malawi. It has made it clear that the measure will apply to "nationals of countries with high overstay rates" or those that raise suspicions due to the lack of reliable monitoring systems.

By Olasunkanmi Akinlotan

Palpable tension is building up in Nigeria’s aviation sector as unions issued a notice of service withdrawal to the Federal Government, effective from Monday, August 11, 2025.

This was contained in a statement signed by the General Secretaries of the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, National Union of Air Transport Employees, Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals, and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees.

The unions lamented the prolonged delay in implementing a new salary structure for workers under the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, despite the conclusion of salary adjustment negotiations with the agency’s management eight months ago.

The letter partly reads, “Recognising that notice of ultimatum has already been issued and served by our branches, which our national unions have adopted.

A seven-day notice of withdrawal of services from today, Thursday, the 31st day of July, 2025, is hereby issued.”

After the expiration of the ultimatum, the union insisted on a total withdrawal of services by 5:00 hours on Monday. The workers, through their strike notice, directed all NAMA staff to stop all services with effect from Monday, August 11, 2025, at 05 hours indefinitely.

“All Airlines and allied companies, as well as the flying public, are hereby informed of the above-stated action and advised to make alternative travel arrangements. All staff shall comply with this directive, and only joint communication from the National Secretariats of the above-named Unions shall be heeded with regard to further directives on this matter,” the letter stated.

The letter was sent to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, and copied to the Managing Director/CEO of NAMA, FAAN, the Commissioner of Police, Airports Command, the Directors of State Security (All Airports), and Airline Operators of Nigeria.

The strike notice implies that all flight operations will be suspended, and the entire industry will be grounded, causing disruptions to travelers and the economy.

If you’re travelling to Portugal this summer, brace for potential disruption, as ongoing strikes at the country’s busiest airports are expected to last until the end of August.

The industrial action, which began on July 25, is taking place every weekend (from Friday to Monday) and has led to delays and cancellations across Portuguese airports, including Lisbon, Faro, and Porto Santo. 

The walkouts, led by SPdH/Menzies ground staff, are due to various issues, including low wages, unpaid night shifts and a lack of staff parking. 

It includes staff in baggage handling, aircraft servicing and at check-in desks. 

Up to 60 UK flights a week could be affected, disrupting travel plans for over 10,000 passengers. 

The UK Foreign Office (FCDO) updated its travel advice before the strikes. 

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It read: ‘Industrial action by baggage handlers at Portuguese airports from Friday to Monday during July and August may cause delays. 

‘If you are travelling over this period, check for announcements and follow the advice of your airline or tour operator.’

The popular holiday islands of Madeira and the Azores will also be affected, as well as mainland airports. 

Lisbon Airport is among those affected (Picture: Getty Images)

BY Donna Ferguson

Most foreign criminals convicted by a UK court will be deported immediately, instead of 30% of the way through their prison sentences, under plans announced by the government.

The justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has proposed a change in legislation that will give the government the power to deport most foreign prisoners as soon as they are convicted and incarcerated.

However, foreign terrorists, murderers and other serious offenders who have been given indeterminate sentences will continue to serve their time in the UK before being considered for deportation.

Prison governors will also retain the power to decide against deporting a foreign criminal who has been given a fixed-term sentence – known as a determinate sentence – if, for example, they consider the offender poses such a serious threat to the UK’s interests or national security that they should remain behind bars in a British prison.

Offenders who are deported will be barred from re-entering the UK and the measures will apply to all foreign national offenders already in custody, as well as those newly sentenced, to reduce taxpayer expenditure on foreign prisoners.

Each prison place costs the government £54,000 a year on average and foreign offenders make up about 12% of the total prison population, according to the Ministry of Justice.

The government has already passed legislation that will come into force in September, allowing prison governors to deport foreign criminals who have served 30% of their prison time, as opposed to the current 50%.

Under the latest proposed powers, which must be voted on by parliament before they come into law, the amount of time most foreign prisoners must serve in UK prisons before deportation would be reduced to 0%.

Mahmood said the government was taking “radical action” and the legislation would ensure deportations happen “earlier than ever before”.

“Our message is clear: if you abuse our hospitality and break our laws, we will send you packing,” she said.

The Prison Service is at nearly 97.5% capacity and came within days of collapse on three occasions in the last few months of Rishi Sunak’s government, an independent review by a former prisons watchdog found on Tuesday.

After taking power in July 2024, Keir Starmer responded to the crisis by allowing some offenders to leave prison after serving 40% of their sentence, arguing that an early release scheme was necessary to “avert disaster” and reduce overcrowding.

The government has since deported more than 5,000 foreign prisoners, an annual increase of 14%, and invested £5m on a special taskforce to speed up removals of these offenders from almost 80 jails.

Despite this, “record numbers of violent and sexual offenders from abroad” are serving time in UK prisons, the shadow justice secretary, Robert Jenrick, said.

He blamed Starmer for refusing to change “broken human rights laws” which he claimed were preventing the government from deporting foreign criminals. “It’s a farce,” he said. “He needs to grow a backbone … so we can actually deport these individuals.”

Jenrick added: “If countries won’t take back their nationals, Starmer should suspend visas and foreign aid. His soft-touch approach isn’t working.”

By Abdullateef Aliyu, Lagos  

Foremost economist and Chief Executive Officer of Financial Derivatives Company, Mr. Bismarck Rewane has painted a gloomy picture of the aviation industry, disclosing that due to poor infrastructure, Nigeria’s aviation sector lost $3.5 billion in revenue between 2020 and 2022.

He expressed concern over the performance of the air transport sector which he noted contracted by 0.81% in Q1 ‘25, the 6th consecutive quarterly decline.

He spoke in Lagos while delivering a keynote speech at the 29th annual conference of the League of Airports and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) with the theme, “Financing Aviation in Nigeria: Risks, Opportunities and Prospects.”

The economist who described aviation as a very difficult industry noted that Nigeria has 32 airports but only about 20 were considered viable in 2024 while 92-96% of traffic flows through just 4.

He lamented how Nigeria spends billions of dollars in airport operations without commensurate increase in passenger traffic.

Backing his assertion with data, he disclosed that the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos which is the busiest airport in Nigeria  processes 6.5 million passengers annually and spends 1.75bn dollars to run the airport.

This, he considered, was outrageous compared to other airports across the globe with much higher traffic but with less spending.

He said Los Angeles Intl (USA) processes 76.5 million passengers and spends 3.5 billion dollars; Heathrow (UK) processes 83.9 million passengers and spends 15.6 billion dollars; Chicago O’Hare Intl (USA) processes 58 million passengers and spends N4.5 billion dollars; Dubai Intl (UAE) processes 92 million passengers and spends 4.0 billion dollars.

Amidst plans to spend N712bn on renovation of MMIA old terminal, the economist made a case for the privatisation of the terminal while the renovation should be handled by the concessionaire.

He stated that the terminal would yield greater returns in the hands of private hands and warned of making the same mistake Nigeria made in the oil and gas sector by spending billions of dollars in refineries that are not working.

He said, “Nigeria has 23 active domestic airlines, however 5 airlines control 75% of traffic. The industry is fragmented. Domestic passenger traffic declined for the 2nd straight year to 11.5mn in 2024.”

Rewane however called for consolidation by airlines, adding, “We need very strong and effective regulation for safety; concessions and PPPs should be prioritized for airport upgrades to aid national fiscal sustainability and avoid inefficient operations. There should be investment in local maintenance, repair & overhaul hubs.

“Government should focus on policy and regulation, not running airlines or building airports directly and policy consistency is crucial for rebuilding trust with global investors and attract global aviation capital,” he recommended.

Mary Olowo-Sokeye, chief financial officer-InterGuide group who represented Dr. Gabriel Olowo, former President of Aviation Roundtable (ART) stated that Aircraft financing in Nigeria is structured to meet different operational and financial needs while ensuring compliance with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations 2023 (NCAR 2023). 

She said, “With Nigerian airlines averaging 48 percent success rate compared to 81 percent global standards while there are growth in aircraft numbers and passenger numbers, challenges persist in meeting global standards.”