Transport
Ethiopian Airlines cargo plane catches fire at Shanghai airport, no casualties
An Ethiopian Airlines’ Boeing 777 cargo plane caught fire while loading cargo at Shanghai Pudong International Airport on Wednesday, the airline said, adding that fire has been contained and none of the crew or ground staff were harmed. The cause of the incident was under investigation, Ethiopian Airlines said in a Facebook post. The aircraft was on a regular scheduled cargo service from Shanghai to Sao Paulo-Santiago, it added. Pictures and videos circulating on Chinese social media showed heavy smoke pouring from an Ethiopian aircraft, and a large section of the upper fuselage appeared scorched. After the fire broke, flights bound for Shanghai Pudong International Airport were diverted to Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, said aviation data provider Variflight. Get more stories li...
Global shipping at ‘critical point’ as routes threatened by sailor shortage
The international shipping community is facing a major labour crisis, with sailors stranded on ships or at home because of visa and flight restrictions, maritime groups said. With crew changes down by 75 per cent, a humanitarian crisis is also developing, with sailors suffering mental health problems, fatigue and accidents from being trapped for months at a time on ships. With more than 200,000 sailors unable to leave their vessels and a similar number trying to get out to them, international shipping bodies believe the world economy is weeks from another disaster. Last week, only 13 countries including the UAE, Britain and the United States, signed up to an agreement to designate sailors as key workers, allowing them to fly home without quarantine or visa issues. But other major seafaring...
Domestic flights resume July 15 across Nigeria
The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, on Saturday in Kano State, said that domestic flights would resume operations across the nation’s airports on July 15, noting that those that are not ready will be given enough time in order not to risk people’s lives. Sirika disclosed this while leading a team from the aviation industry and the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja to Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport Kano on a simulation exercise with MaxAir, VM1644. He said the purpose of the exercise was to see that the airport was opened in accordance with the protocols established by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and to assess whether the airport was safe to operate According to him, “I am very glad and I think the civil a...
Lagos, Abuja, Kano airports ready for operations
Akintunde Akinleye/Reuters The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, says that Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, are ready for recommencement of domestic flights. The minister said during the daily Presidential Task Force briefing on Monday in Abuja that Lagos, Abuja and Kano airports would recommence domestic flights on Wednesday. He urged all passengers and crews to obey the COVID-19 protocols to ensure safety of the airports and airplanes against the virus. Sirika said that five countries in Africa and over one hundred countries across the globe have already started domestic air service. On the preparation on the airplanes, the minister stated that the last row of the aircraf...
Senator Sirika: I don’t control airfares
The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, on Thursday, said he was not in a position to regulate airfares for airlines. Sirika stated this when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Aviation to brief senators on the level of the sector’s preparedness to begin flight operations on July 8. He said, “Price is not in my hand but from what we put in place, I do not think that anything significant will happen to affect the propensity to fly.” The minister, however, said necessary protocols have been put in place to ensure social distancing within the airport premises and inside the aircraft. He said, “There is nothing like rush hour again. People have to stay safe before anything happens. “So I’m sure that as civil aviation we are responsible to ensure that everybody remains safe. So t...
FAAN to deploy robots in airports
Akintunde Akinleye/Reuters As the country gears up to restart commercial flights, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria is set to deploy robots in its airports all over the country. It was gathered that the robots would be used for passenger facilitation processes including profiling, check-ins, temperature checks as well as detection of security threats including dangerous goods and arms. Confirming the development, General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Henrietta Yakubu told newsmen over the phone that the test run of the robots was done at the Lagos Airport on Saturday. “It’s a demo that is going on in Lagos. It’s been demonstrated. If it works fine, it will be adopted,” she said. Meanwhile, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority today conducted a simulation flight ahead of the reopenin...
Nigeria completes flight simulation exercise ahead of resumption
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has conducted simulation exercise at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja to test all the protocols designed to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 at the Airport ahead of flight resumption. The simulation exercise which began around 8am saw passengers go through all the protocols before boarding the Aero Contractor flight at about 11:20am. The flight was operated on a B737 marked NG110 with 51 passengers on board. The Nigerian airports have been shut down in excess of three months to avert the spread of the COVID-19 across the country. But the aviation sector is set to reopen again. Newsmen observed during the simulation exercise a 1.5m physical distance markings, two hand wash areas and bags disinfecting area. Also hand sanitizers we...
Waymo inks deal with Volvo to develop self-driving electric cars
Agence France-Presse Waymo and the Volvo Cars Group have agreed to develop a self-driving electric vehicle designed for ride-hailing use, as part of a new global partnership, the companies said on Thursday. Waymo, a unit of Silicon Valley’s Alphabet, said it will be the exclusive global partner for Volvo Cars for developing self-driving vehicles capable of operating safely without routine driver intervention. Waymo will focus on the artificial intelligence for the software “driver.” Volvo will design and manufacture the vehicles. The companies said Waymo will work with Volvo’s global brands, including Polestar and Lynk & Co. Volvo, owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, has a separate agreement to deliver vehicles to ride-hailing company Uber that Uber will equip to operate as ...
Aviation unions warn NAMA over proposed salary cut
NIGERIAN AIRSPACE MANAGEMENT AGENCY Aviation industry unions on Wednesday warned the Management of Nigerian Airspace Management Authority (NAMA) not to embark on its planned payment of incomplete salaries to staff, predicting dire consequences for the action. Newsmen report that the unions are National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and Air Transport Senior Staff Services Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN). Others are the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP) and Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE). The unions gave the warning in a letter jointly signed by Deputy General Secretary, ATSSSAN, Frances Akinjole; General Secretary, NUATE, Ocheme Aba; General Secretary, ANAP, Abdulrasaq Saidu; and...
Virgin Atlantic resumes Lagos-London flights August 24
Virgin Atlantic has announced its intention to resume flights from Lagos to London Heathrow from August 24, 2020 saying the international flight will be operated on its new A350-1000 aircraft and will provide connections to a range of US destinations. The Chief Commercial Officer of Virgin Atlantic, Juha Jarvinen, made this known as the airline promised to resume flying to 16 additional destinations around the world. “As countries around the world begin to relax travel restrictions, we look forward to welcoming our customers back onboard and flying them safely to many destinations across our network. “From 20th July we will resume services to New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong; then from 1st August onwards, we will resume passenger flying to 17 additional destinations around the world inc...
Aviation stakeholders decry use of foreign airlines to evacuate Nigerians
Stakeholders in the aviation industry on Monday kicked against the continuous use of foreign airlines by the Federal Government for the evacuation of Nigerians in spite of domestic capacity to carry out the exercise. They expressed their displeasure in a chat with the Aviation Correspondents in Lagos, saying the situation was creating wrong impression about Nigeria and safety of its carriers. Speaking, Capt. Nogie Meggison, Executive Chairman, Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), said the continuous use of foreign airlines to evacuate Nigerians by the government was contrary to its own directive that only indigenous carriers should be used. Meggison said that the onus still lies on the government to do the right thing by protecting its own carriers, as COVID-19 fears had forced government t...
Nigerian government receives coaches, locomotives for Lagos-Ibadan, Abuja-Kaduna railways
The Federal Government on Monday announced that it had received some coaches and locomotives to be deployed on key rail lines in Nigeria. It said the coaches were the last set which were ordered in March. It was also gathered that the locomotives and coaches, which arrived Nigeria from China, would be deployed once operations begin. The government disclosed this via a tweet by the Nigerian Railway Corporation through its official Twitter handle, which was also confirmed to our correspondent by the NRC’s spokesperson, Yakub Mahmood. The corporation said, “Some days ago, Nigeria took delivery of the last dozens of train coaches ordered in the month of March. “The coaches have been transported to Nigerian train base in Papalanto, Ogun State and will be used on the Lagos-Ibadan railway when op...
