Travel & Business News

President Muhammadu Buhari   In a recent development, President Muhammadu Buhari has reappointed Engr. Akin Olateru as the Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Nigeria. Alongside this reappointment, the President also endorsed the appointment of new heads at the following organizations as follows: Captain Modibbo Alkali Mahmud replaces Capt. Abdulsalami Mohammed as the rector at the Nigeria College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria; Professor Bako Matazu – new head at the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMET), who has been appointed to replace Professor Sani Abubakar Mashi. According to James Odaudu, the Director of Media at the Ministry of Aviation, the above reappointment and appointments are all in accordance with the Federal Government’s dedication to execute President Buhari’s Aviation Development Roadmap, and are to be effected immediately The Federal Government has also divulged that this reorganization exercise is a...

  In a bid to achieve seamless travel for passengers, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between Emirates and the Dubai Health Authority (DHA). Dubai is among the first cities in the world to implement digital verification of travelers’ medical records pertaining to their history of COVID-19 tests and vaccinations. The Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates, His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum had this to say about the partnership: “Dubai is a leading air transport hub, as well as one of the world’s most progressive cities in the area of e-government services. It is a natural step to combine our capabilities to implement digital verification of COVID-19 medical records, which will also enable contactless document verification at Dubai Airport.” According to sources, Emirates and the DHA look forward to working together in linking Emirates’ reservations/check-in platform and the IT systems of DHA approved laboratories. The harmonization process ta...

  The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika has revealed that health and security concerns are responsible for the continuous suspension of operations at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano. Sirika divulged this in response to an appeal by the Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, who led a delegation to see him recently.   According to Ganduje, his visit to Sirika was executed for two main reasons: to appreciate the Federal Government led by President Muhammadu Buhari for the completion of the international wing of Kano airport, and to appeal for the resumption of international flights at the said airport. After listening to his concerns about the devastating effects the present suspension is having on the state’s economy, Sirika assured the Governor that it was also his wish to see the airport reopen for operations, but that the present health and security threats posed by the airport remain a problem. In his own words, “The suspension of international flig...

The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has announced that it has opened an investigation into the burst tire incident that happened on Runway 18R on March 8 involving a B737-300 aircraft operated by Air Peace. According to sources, the aircraft which had left Abuja carrying 127 passengers and 6 crew members had a burst tire as it touched down at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and taxied into GAT shortly after. Fortunately, no casualties were recorded. The investigative team earlier released a statement pertaining to the incident which read: “Accident Investigation Bureau, Nigeria has been notified and has commenced an investigation into a serious incident involving a Boeing 737-300 with nationality and registration number 5N-BUQ operated by Air Peace Airline which occurred around 9:31pm (local time) on 8 th March, 2021.” The Bureau went further to solicit assistance from the general public – assistance which could be in the form of video clips or eye witness acco...

  Everyone in the aviation industry knows about the Boeing versus Airbus commercial airline duopoly. It is also known that Boeing is the king of freighter jets, and there are reasons for this. According to sources, Boeing has more than 760 freighter aircraft variants ordered by customers, with 732 already delivered, and this number does not even include the several combination aircraft that the manufacturer has sold or those that have been converted from passenger to cargo aircraft by various airlines. Juxtapose this with Airbus which has not sold a new built cargo aircraft for almost six years. Even though Airbus enjoys a certain amount of success with its few passenger-to-freighter (P2F) converted aircraft, the numbers are still insignificant compared to Boeing. One could say that the reason for this disparity between Boeing and Airbus is the fact that from inception, Boeing had embraced freighter variants as part of its product lineup because apart from the B787 Dreamliner...

  Group MD, NAHCO Plc, Mrs. Tokunbo Fagbemi Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) Plc joined in the celebration of the International Day of the Woman on March 8, and in the spirit of giving, gave out cash prizes to deserving women within the Company. NAHCO is known for celebrating women each year on the said date, and this year was not an exception, though this time, the festivities took place mainly on Zoom due to COVID-19. In line with this year’s theme, “I Choose to Challenge”, three female challengers who wrote brilliant essays on the topic received cash prizes for their amazing pieces. The online event also featured lengthy talks on this year’s theme, with a focus on how women can seize opportunities to challenge the status quo wherever they find themselves. According to the Group Managing Director, Mrs. Olatokunbo Fagbemi, “Women are the bedrock of the nation; they have contributed immensely in building society. We celebrate them today because apart from being ass...

  It was amid the traditional water canon salute at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja that Allied Air, one of Nigeria’s foremost cargo airlines recently received its newly acquired N8billion B737-800 SF. Among those who received the aircraft were senior government officials and financiers such as the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika; the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefelie; the Managing Director (MD) of Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe; the MD of Allied Air, Capt. Val Thongo. In his address, Hadi Sirika thanked the CBN and Access Bank for their unique roles in the procurement of the said aircraft, and divulged that the federal government is presently devising policies to ease the aircraft acquisition process in the future. Throwing more light on how the B737-800 was procured, Emefelie first began by thanking Hadi Sirika for his persistent contribution to the improvement of the aviation industry in Nigeria, before revealing that, “ This air...