All Posts in "Aviation"

NAMA Abuja Airport Operation Manager died at work

By admin

 

Nigerian Airspace Management Agency ( NAMA) has announced the death of one of its Air Traffic Controllers (ATCO), Aniekan Effiong, while on duty on Monday.

Khalid Emele, NAMA spokesman, confirmed the sad news in a statement in Lagos on Monday.

Mr Emele said Mr Effiong died on duty at the approach radar control site of NAMA Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria (TRACON), Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The ATC officer, until his death was an Assistant General Manager, Operations at NAMA.

Mr Emele, mourned the sudden death of the NAMA official, saying “he was a hardworking and dedicated staff(er) who died at the prime of his career.

“Effiong reported to duty at the Abuja Approach Radar Control (TRACON) on Nov. 21 at 6p.m. without any sign of illness whatsoever.

“He was to close by 7a.m. the next day (Monday). However, at about 4 a.m. this morning, he experienced difficulty in breathing.

“FAAN ambulance was called to evacuate him to the nearest medical facility.

“He was immediately taken to the Air Force Base clinic where he died.

“Effiong was a hardworking and dedicated staff who died at the prime of his career.

“He will be missed by the entire NAMA community,” said the statement. NAN

Patoma Admin by — November 23, 2021 in Aviation 0
Qatar Airways flies World Cup above 8 Stadiums on special Boeing 777

It’s only one year until the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 begins. Providing a crucial role in carrying spectators and personnel to the highly-anticipated global football tournament, Qatar Airways has been busy gearing up for demand.

This weekend, one of the flag carrier of Qatar’s Boeing 777s took to the skies with the World Cup trophy and flew above the eight stadiums hosting the games.

With a special flight number of QR2022, the 777-3DZER took off from Doha on Saturday morning to navigate the east side of Qatar before landing back in the capital 79 minutes later. Two-time World Cup winner Cafu was there to witness the twinjet spectacle. The former Brazil International was also joined by a Qatar Legacy Ambassador.

Last November, Qatar Airways revealed a special livery with the words FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 livery painted on its 777 aircraft. It’s estimated that 1.5 million additional international passengers will arrive in Qatar for the tournament.

As the official airline of FIFA, the airline is ensuring it’s got everything in place ahead of the big event

Qatar is ready to welcome fans from across the globe to its shores for this exciting, world-class event and, as the World’s Best Airline, we are eagerly anticipating the arrival of travelling fans on board as we expect amazing things from the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022,” Qatar Airways Group CEO Akbar Al Baker shared in a company statement.

“With just one year to go until the big event, the upcoming FIFA Arab Cup is the perfect showpiece tournament for both the State of Qatar and the airline to display our readiness. This global occasion represents what it means for us to be the Official Airline and Official Partner of FIFA, while seamlessly connecting people from around the world to our nation.”

Patoma Admin by — November 22, 2021 in Aviation 0

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted low weather visibility of below a thousand over some parts of the northern region on November 20, 2021 stating that dust haze are expected to affect Borno, Yobe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina and environs .

The Dust haze originated from the Faya Largeau in Chad Republic – a major dust haze source region for Nigeria and indeed the West African Sub-region.

The value scale of significant visibility deterioration over the northern cities on the 20th as stated above would range from 2000-5000 metres with isolated cases of visibility below 1000 metres. Most parts of the central states are expected to be partly cloudy with sunny intervals while the southern states are expected to be cloudy with prospects of isolated thunderstorms

Consequently, motorists are advised to drive with caution especially in the extreme northern parts where reduction in visibility is envisaged. More attention is expected especially during the early morning period when horizontal visibility is mostly impaired.

Hot and dry atmospheric condition associated with harmattan could result in heat exhaustion and dehydration, hence keeping the body hydrated by drinking water is crucial to avoid heat stroke, however temperatures at night could be very low, adequate clothing is therefore essential. The expected reduction in visibility may disrupt flight operations through cancellation and delay of flights; this is for the safety of air travellers.

Patoma Admin by — November 18, 2021 in Aviation 0
Ibom Air Orders 10 Airbus A220s

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

Nigeria’s Ibom Air has placed an order for 10 Airbus A220s. The order is broken down between the types, with the A220-300 being delivered from 2023, with the A220-100 to follow.

The order pushes Airbus to an even stronger lead in terms of orders placed on day three of the Dubai Airshow, as well as the total orders for the Dubai Airshow so far.
While Boeing took an early lead in the Dubai day three order book, it was quickly overtaken by rival Airbus when the Middle Eastern carrier Jazeera Airways placed an order for up to 28 new jets from the Airbus A320neo family, worth more than $3.3 billion.

For now, Ibom Air’s order os comprised of three of the larger Airbus A220-300, and seven of the smaller A220-100s. However, while the numbers of aircraft have been set, the split between the two types remains fluid, meaning we could see more of one type, and less of another.

The airline isn’t totally new to the Airbus A220. Instead, it is already wet leasing two Airbus A220-300s from fellow African airline, Egyptair. Wet leasing means that Ibom Air is paying Egyptair to provide the aircraft, fuel, and crew.

All-A220 operator airBaltic is currently showing off one of its shiny Airbus A220 aircraft at the Dubai Airshow. Unlike airBaltic, Ibom Air isn’t eyeing an all A220 fleet. According to ch-aviation.com, the airline already has five Embraer CRJs.

During the press conference, Mfon Udom said that the Airbus A220 order would complement its existing fleet, rather than replace it. The airline is owned by the Akwa Ibom state government, and as such, both its CEO and the Governor of the state, Udom Emmanuel.

Airbus’ chief commercial officer, Christian Scherer, commented that the aircraft is ideally suited to the Nigerian aviation market. By the end of October, the Airbus A220 had already clocked 643 firm orders from customers around the globe. While many aircraft were impacted by the global pandemic, the A220 has already exceeded its pre-pandemic schedule, as was previously shown by Simple Flying’s analysis

Patoma Admin by — November 17, 2021 in Aviation 0
Plane tickets set to increase due to rising oil prices – IATA

By admin

Plane tickets are set to become more expensive as a result of rising crude oil prices and labour costs, warned head of the International Air Transport Association, IATA.

“The issue that will impact fares in the short to medium-term will be the high price of oil, that continues to remain stubbornly high and increased charges by ANSPs and airports,” said Willie Walsh, the director general of AITA.

“Higher oil prices will reflect in ticket prices,” Mr Walsh said. “Where airlines have made huge losses in recent years, it’s impossible to absorb increases and will have to be passed on to consumers and will have to be reflected in the pricing, he said during an online media briefing monitored by Persecondnews.com

Mr Walsh said. The industry has no choice but to reflect this into plane ticket prices.”

Rising oil prices will add pressure on airlines’ costs, forcing them to pass on some of that burden to passengers by raising air fares, but will not stall the recovery of carriers, according to the head of the

Global airlines, already battered over the past 20 months by the Covid-19 pandemic that has hit their revenue, are facing stronger oil prices of about $80 per barrel and increasing fees from air navigation service providers (ANSPs) seeking to recoup their own losses.

Oil prices have hit multi-year highs with global supplies constrained while demand is rising as developed economies rebound faster than expected from the coronavirus-induced slowdown. Brent, the global benchmark under which two thirds oil trades, has gained more than 60 per cent since the start of the year and was trading at $82.87 a barrel at 3.30pm Nigerian time on Wednesday.

Fuel typically makes up 25 per cent of an airline’s cost. Global carriers will shoulder total accumulative losses of $201 billion in the period between 2020 to 2022, as a result of the pandemic that brought air travel to a halt, according to Iata’s latest industry report in October.

The higher pricing will reflect airlines’ cost of operations, rather than a supply-demand dynamic, Mr Walsh said.

Patoma Admin by — November 5, 2021 in Aviation 0
Emirates Airbus A380 return to J’Burg, Spain, Brazil, three other routes from Sunday

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

Emirates is continuing to grow its Airbus A380 network. With the changeover to the IATA winter timetable planned for Sunday, October 31st, six more routes are set to welcome the Airbus A380 once more.

The returning flights will allow Emirates to exceed 1,000 rotations with the giant of the skies in November.

Emirates is hard at work, proving that the Airbus A380 still has a place in the post-pandemic aviation industry. With the airline’s entire 777 fleet already busy for some time, the airline has to use the A380 to add capacity now. By the end of the year, it hopes to have reactivated around 50 A380s and restored 70% of its capacity.

Six more A380 routes

Emirates will relaunch A380 flights to six destinations on Sunday. Some of these have seen the A380 since the height of the pandemic but have lost the jet again somewhere along the way. According to schedule data from Cirium, the A380 will return to the following routes:
AMS – Amsterdam – The Netherlands; GRU – Sao Paulo – Brazil; HAM – Hamburg – Germany; JNB – Johannesburg – South Africa; MAD – Madrid – Spain and MXP – Milan – Itlay

Each of the routes will operate daily through November, except for Milan, which has just 22 rotations scheduled for the month. With the addition of the above routes, Emirates will fly the Airbus A380 to 25 destinations from its Dubai home.

Increased capacities on other routes
While the A380 is returning to these routes, other routes will see increased capacities from Sunday. Frankfurt will be to welcome a double-daily Airbus A380 from Sunday. Meanwhile, Vienna’s capacity will increase, with 38 rotations planned for November, up from a daily A380 rotation in October.

Patoma Admin by — October 29, 2021 in Aviation 0
FAAN trains 121 Aviation Security officers from 12 states

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has announced completion the training of 121 aviation security officers drawn from twelve (12) airports including Abuja, Maiduguri, Yola, Jos, Gombe, Dutse, Sokoto, Zaria, Kaduna, Kebbi, Makurdi and Katsina.
The Aviation Security officers were taken through the mandatory 6 weeks STP 123 Basic Course, which was both intellectual and physical.

Some of the topics taken during the course includes; Overview of legislation, Access Control, People & Vehicle, Airport emergency (Basic fire prevention), Screening procedures, X-ray image interpretation, Effective communication, Protection of parked aircraft, Cargo and mail security, First aid training amongst others.

In accordance with the requirements of the National Civil Aviation Security Training Programme (NCASTP), the trainees all attained the 70% pass mark before graduating.

Patoma Admin by — October 8, 2021 in Aviation 0
FAAN temporarily close drop off zone for canopy installation

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has announced a temporary closure of the regular Drop Off Zone at the departure frontage of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos from October 6, 2021

FAAN informed passengers, airport users, stakeholders and the general public that effective Wednesday, October 6, 2021 that temporary closure is to allow for the completion of the ongoing canopy installation works at the concourse of the old international building.

In a Statement signed by Mrs Henrietta Yakubu, General Manager, Corporate Affairs, to ease vehicular and human facilitation around the area, the Authority has temporary opened the Drop Off Zone of the new international terminal to serve airport users, while the project would last.

She also said covered walkways have been put in place to link the old and the new terminal. The Authority will also open the new departure bridge to serve as an exit to motorists.

While appealing to airport users to bear with us while this project will be completed, we will like to appeal to passengers and other stakeholders to please comply with directives from security and traffic agents that have been deployed to ensure orderliness.

Patoma Admin by — October 6, 2021 in Aviation 0
Seven Years Of Operations: The Story Of Virgin Nigeria Airways

By Jake Hardiman

 

 

The Virgin Group is a far-reaching conglomerate with its fingers in many pies. Among these over the years have been several airlines. Some, like Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia, are active today, while others no longer grace the world’s skies. One such carrier was Virgin Nigeria Airways, which flew for seven years in the 2000s and 2010s. This is its story.

In the beginning

When Nigeria Airways ceased operations in 2003, the country needed a new national airline. This came to fruition a year later, in 2004, when a group of Nigerian investors collaborated with the Virgin Group to form Virgin Nigeria. Its base was Murtala Muhammed International Airport (LOS) in Lagos, and its frequent flyer program was known as Eagleflier.

The year after being founded, Virgin Nigeria commenced operations in June 2005. Its inaugural flight took passengers from its own hub in Lagos to a key Virgin Atlantic base, namely London Heathrow. The plane used was an Airbus A340-300 which the new carrier leased from Virgin Atlantic. In fact, it retained its G-VBUS registration while at Virgin Nigeria.

To begin with, Virgin Nigeria enjoyed periods of fast expansion. Indeed, it took just two years for the airline to carry its millionth passenger and 4,000th ton of cargo. As growth continued, it planned to open a second base elsewhere in Nigeria, specifically Abuja.

Virgin Nigeria’s fleet

Despite operating for a relatively short period of time, Virgin Nigeria flew an interesting and diverse range of aircraft. As we have established, the airline’s early years saw it lease two Virgin Atlantic A340s, which, according to data from ATDB.aero, it returned in 2007. Other widebodies at the carrier included two A330-200s and three Boeing 767-300.

In terms of single-aisle aircraft, Virgin Nigeria’s most common narrowbody was the 737 family, from which it operated 12 737-300s and a single -400. Less numerous were the A320-200 and 757-200, of which Virgin Nigeria flew two and one respectively.

Regional aircraft also had a role to play at Virgin Nigeria. As far as jet-powered aircraft were concerned, it flew two Embraer E190s, as well as canceling the acquisitions of two E170s. Turboprops were also present in the form of the ATR 42 and the Fokker F27.

The end of the line

After five years of operations, the Virgin Group withdrew its branding from the airline, which then became known as Nigerian Eagle Airlines. Despite the name change, Virgin retained its stake in the airline, although it had been looking to sell it since 2008. A year later, in June 2010, a change in the carrier’s ownership structure brought about another name change.

This saw it take on the rather simpler name of Air Nigeria. Two more years followed before safety checks in June 2012 grounded the airline. September 6th that year saw the firing of its management on the grounds of disloyalty, and operations ceased fully four days later. There were 13 aircraft in Air Nigeria’s fleet at the time of its collapse.

Patoma Admin by — October 5, 2021 in Aviation 0
FAAN marks 61st Independence celebration with passengers at four international airports

By admin

 

International airports today wore a celebratory look as the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) thrilled arriving passengers to music and dance as they made way into the country October 1, 2021, Independence Day.

Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja; MallamAminu Kano International Airport, Kano and Port Harcourt International Airport Omagwa came to life with music and dance while staff of FAAN handed flags to passengers.

Passengers also joined the celebration,dancing and celebrating as they received flags and balloons.

Some expressed surprise, pride and joy at the concept  FAAN pulled off. Mrs Annamarie who spoke to NigerianFLIGHTDECK at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport said,” Well, this is relatively new and nice, to be welcomed like a hero to your country. It’s exciting and I think should be done  at all the airport not just Lagos.

A passenger who was impressed with the whole idea and couldn’t stop dancing told our reporter that,”…look we are alive. hard times come and so hard times will go.

General Manager Corporate Communication, FAAN, Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu when asked the reason for the atmosphere around the nation’s airport said:

” We decided to appreciate our passengers. In spite of the hardship,In spite of the situation in the country, Nigerian are still able to afford to fly. We are celebrating passengers who use our airports for making it lively and operational because without them we wouldn’t have any airport. So we just thank our passengers for keeping our airports open, in spite everything some were happy,some danced with us.”

Patoma Admin by — October 2, 2021 in Aviation 0