Aviation
Nigerian airlines list conditions for full refund to passengers after two-hour flight delay
Following the pronouncement of the Federal Government that airline operators must refund the full cost of travel tickets to passengers after a two-hour delay, commercial airlines have listed the conditions for such reimbursement. The airline operators made this known in separate interviews with newsmen. The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, had, on Thursday at the weekly State House briefing in Aso Villa, Abuja, read out some of the rights of air passengers as enshrined in Part 19 of the Consumer Protection Regulations of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (2015) and charged them to demand their rights whenever they were being trampled upon by airlines. “On domestic flights, for delay beyond one hour, carrier should provide refreshment, and one telephone call, or one SMS, or one e-ma...
Akwa Ibom governor, former Kaduna senator urges leaders to learn vision from communist party of China
Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, has commended the Communist Party of China (CPC) for a laudable administration that transformed China into the global second largest economy. Emmanuel made the commendation as Special Guest of Honour at a symposium to mark the centenary of China’s governing party, the Communist Party of China, CPC, with the theme: “Communist Party of China at 100: Trajectories, Achievements and Prospects,” held at the Chinese Cultural Centre, Abuja recently. Emmanuel who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr. Ephraim Inyangeyen, said, China emerged over the years as a leading country in industrialisation, science and technology and information communication revolution, even adding that she is a major player in world trade, finance, commerce, aviation and int...
Nigerian airlines record low patronage over insecurity
Nigerian airlines have confirmed that passenger traffic has reduced in the last four weeks. This, they attributed to the growing insecurity in different parts of the country. Those who spoke to newsmen insisted that high airfares could be a factor, but insecurity was also identified as major reason. They noted that even at the peak of high cost of tickets in May and April, passenger traffic was still high. Newsmen learnt that some airlines that resumed flights to some destinations in the north had to withdraw, while the south-east airports, which used to be lucrative routes after Lagos and Abuja have recorded reduction in passenger movement. Head of Communications, Dana Air, Kingsley Ezenwa, told newsmen that there is slight reduction in the airline’s load factor in its flights to Enugu, O...
Belarus’s forced landing of Lithuania-bound Ryanair plane sparks outrage
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko ordered a Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania to land on Sunday in Minsk, where a Belarusian opposition activist on board was detained, prompting international condemnation. EU member Lithuania urged the European Union and NATO to respond, Germany called for an immediate explanation and Poland’s prime minister called it a “reprehensible act of state terrorism”. The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said Belarus’s action was “utterly unacceptable”. The aircraft, flying from Athens to Vilnius, had almost reached Lithuania when it changed direction and was escorted to Minsk, the Belarusian capital, after reports that it had explosives on board, according to an online flight tracker and BelTA state news agency. Belarusian law e...
Niger governor: Video of Boko Haram forcefully converting people to Islam fake
The governor of Niger State, Abubakar Sani Bello, debunked a video now going viral on social media of Boko Haram elements forcefully converting people to Islam. The video of Boko Haram of terrorists forcing Niger State residents to convert to Islam was shared by former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, on Twitter. “Boko Haram and ISWA forcefully converting people to Islam in the parts of Niger state that they have captured, conquered, occupied and flown their flag, he captioned it. “This is happening just two hours from Abuja! I warned you.” The Niger State governor in his reaction tweeted that the video was an old video and that it did not originate from Nigeria. “Please query your sources as this is not Niger State or even Nigeria. We understand that this video is from Ivory Coast ...
NiMet chief appointed permanent representative to WMO
Following his appointment as the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMet, Prof. Mansur Bako Matazu, has been appointed the Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the World Meteorological Organization, WMO. The appointment is in line with the provision of the General Regulations (Regulation 5a) of the World Meteorological Organization Basic Documents No. 1 (WMO – No 15) 2019 Edition which states that “Each member shall designate by written notification of the Secretary-General, a Permanent Representative who shall be the Director of the Meteorological or Hydrometeorological services to act on technical matters for the member between the sessions of congress. Subject to the approval of their respective government, Permanent Representative sho...
Azman Air apologises to NCAA chief over false accusations
After series of accusations and counter-accusations generated by the suspension of Azman from flight operations by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, (NCAA) over violation of safety rules, the management of the airline has finally apologised to the regulatory agency for the rash actions it took over the suspension. The suspension of Azman by the NCAA was negatively reacted to by the airline with the management issuing a scandalous statement which accused the director-general of the NCAA, Captain Nuhu Musa, of suspending the airline to punish it for a previous disagreement between him and the airline. Azman had in the statement accused the NCAA DG of embarking on a vengeance mission which elicited reactions from key players across the sector. However, the latest statement issued and sig...
Nigerian government urged to dialogue with Sunday Igboho
A former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has advised the Federal Government to dialogue with the Yoruba activist, Chief Sunday Igboho, instead of plotting to arrest or harm him, a situation, he said, portends danger to national stability. Fani-Kayode, in a post on his social media pages on Friday, which he also sent to newsmen, said arresting, detaining or killing Igboho will be the “biggest mistake” that the Federal Government can make. He added that the activist has not broken any law of the nation and that he represents the thoughts and aspirations of over 70 million Yoruba people as he is seen as a hero by the same people. “I will say this just once. The biggest threat to the peace and stability of Nigeria today is the plan by some hardliners in the Federal Government to ...
Controversy over ex-minister threatening his aide with hammer in trending video
A video released by Sahara Reporters showing former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, interrogating his former Personal Assistant with a hammer in his right hand, has been trending on social media and generating reactions. In the video, Fani-Kayode can be seen visibly holding the hammer in his right hand until he discovered that he was recovered before hiding it with his body. The video was recorded by his estranged wife, Precious Chikwendu, who can be heard in the background saying the former Minister had a hammer in his hand. Meanwhile, Fani-Kayode has released a statement denying that he threatened his former PA with a hammer. The press release was signed by his Media Aide, Jubril Oladimeji Olaiya. The statement said: “The allegation that Chief Femi Fani-Kayode is a violent man th...
Minister: Suspension of international flights at Kano airport affecting our revenue
The Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, has said the continued closure of the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport is affecting the revenue of government. International flights into the airport were suspended in the wake of COVID-19 lockdown. When he received a high-powered delegation from Kano State, led by Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, in his office in Abuja on Tuesday, Sirika lamented the effect of the suspension. He said it does not make economic sense for government to spend so much money, as it has done on the airport, and abandon it in the end. He highlighted the attendant degeneration of infrastructure, redundancy amongst operational staff, revenue loss, hardship on travellers, amongst others. The Minister promised that necessary steps were being taken for the resumption ...
Femi Fani-Kayode: Old man arrested is not ‘wanted’ Isikilu Wakili
A septuagenarian arrested by members of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) is not the “wanted Wakili”, according to former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode. Some members of the OPC in Oyo State had, on Sunday, razed a Fulani settlement at Kajola in Ibarapa area of Oyo State before arresting the elderly blind man. In the process, newsmen gathered Wakili’s daughter-n-law was killed. In a series of tweets on Tuesday, Fani-Kayode said the old man arrested is not the prime suspect. His tweet read, “One Isikilu Wakili, a foreign terrorist who operates in the Ibarapa area, is the most notorious, dangerous and bloodthirsty terrorist in the South-West today. He killed even more people yesterday. He is even worse than Abu and the old man that is in police custody in Ibadan. “The Isikilu Wakili t...
Nigeria threatens to ban flights from UAE, Netherlands
The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 has threatened to ban flights from the UAE and The Netherlands as a reciprocal action. The task force said the Ministry of Aviation and its relevant agencies have been mandated to take the necessary reciprocal measures as may be permissible under the laws and other international obligations expected to be discharged against Emirates airlines operating from the UAE and other airlines from The Netherlands. Mr Boss Mustapha, the Chairman of PTF and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, disclosed this at the routine briefing of the committee in Abuja on Monday. Mustapha said: “For over a month, Nigeria has been engaged with the authorities of the UAE and The Netherlands over pre-departure testing requirements passengers should meet before ...
