All Posts in "Technology"

Emirates posts $1.1bn loss, moves to improvement

By Favour Nnabugwu
 Emirates Group released its 2021 full-year results, reporting a loss of AED 3.8 billion ($1 billion) on total revenue of AED 66.2 billion ($18.1 billion).
In 2020-2021 (April-March), the group lost AED 22.1 billion ($6 billion) on revenue of AED 35.6 billion ($9.7 billion).
The Emirates result is a vast improvement from last year, with revenue jumping by 86 percent. However, there is still a long way to reach pre-COVID 2018/19 revenue of AED 109 billion and a profit of AED 2.3 billion. The airline closed the financial year with cash assets of AED 20.9 billion ($5.7 billion), 38 percent higher than at March 31, 2021.
Emirates continued to add more passenger and freight capacity during the year. It carried 19.6 million passengers, up from 6.6 million from last year, added its last five Airbus A380 aircraft and invested $2.2 billion in new aircraft.
By the end of March, all of Emirates’ Boeing B777s and half of its A380s had returned to service. Its fleet totaled 262 aircraft with an average age of 8.2 years, and another 197 aircraft, including 30 Boeing B787s, have been ordered.
The airline operates to more than 140 destinations, 29 with A380 aircraft. It reinforced strategic partnerships with Qantas and flydubai, widening travel choices to and from Dubai. Emirates also expanded partnerships with airlines, including Aeromar, airBaltic, Azul Airlines, South African Airways and TAP Air Portugal.
Chairman and chief executive of Emirates, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said this year focused on restoring operations, and the recovery picked up pace in the second half of the year.
“Robust customer demand drove a huge improvement in our financial performance compared to our unprecedented losses of last year and we built up our strong cash balance.”
Sheikh Ahmed expects the group to return to profitability in 2022-23 but is cautious of headwinds that could impact that. These are high fuel prices, inflation, new COVID variants and political and economic uncertainty.
Emirates SkyCargo contributed $5.9 billion or 40 percent of the airline’s transport revenue, a 27 percent increase over 2020/21. Emirates is adding two Boeing 777F Freighters and converting four existing B777-300ER aircraft into freighters, a total investment of $1 billion. The SkyCargo fleet operates ten Boeing B777F aircraft.
As flight and travel activity increased, so did the fortunes of dnata, which turned a profit of AED 110 million ($30 million). Its revenue jumped by 54 percent to $2.3 billion, with 62 percent coming from its international business. dnata saw good growth from airport operations, catering, travel services and its airport hospitality brand, marhaba. The catering arm uplifted more than 39.9 million meals, more than double the last year, as airlines across the world resumed operations.
Emirates has delivered a robust set of numbers, a pattern likely to be repeated as airlines produce their annual reports. Interestingly, everything is compared to 2020/21, which was such a low point that this year’s results were always going to improve.
With borders essentially reopened and travelers returning, the challenge for Emirates is to do better than it did in 2018/19. The coming twelve months will tell where the airline group is headed.
Patoma Admin by — May 15, 2022 in Aviation 0
NCC warns car owners of new hacking… Says Honda, Acura more easy

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has warned car owners in country to cautious of new hacking methods that open car doors and start engines without keys. 

The commission said owners of Honda and Acura car models are more susceptible to this attack. 

The warning contained in the discoveries by the Computer Security Incident Response Team, CSIRT, a cyber security centre established for the telecom sector by the NCC. 

Part of the centre’s report, released by the commission’s Director Public Affairs, Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, alerted telecom consumers and members of the public, particularly, car owners on an ongoing cyber-vulnerability that allows a nearby hacker to unlock vehicles, start their engines wirelessly and make away with the cars.

According to him “”The CSIRT discovered that because car remotes are categorized as short-range devices that make use of radio frequency, RF, to lock and unlock cars, there are immediate dangers in a new hacking method which see hackers take advantage to unlock and start a compromised car”. 

The CSIRT released that the vulnerability is a Man-in-the-Middle attack or, more specifically, a replay attack in which an attacker intercepts the RF signals normally sent from a remote key to the car, manipulates these signals, and resends them later to unlock the car at will. 

 Adinde quoted the CSIRT as saying: “Multiple researchers disclosed a vulnerability, which is said to be used by a nearby attacker to unlock some Honda and Acura car models and start their engines wirelessly. The attack consists of a threat actor capturing the radio frequency (RF) signals sent from your key fob to the car and resending these signals to take control of your car’s remote keyless entry system,” 

“However, when affected, the only mitigation is to reset your key fob at the dealership. The affected car manufacturer may provide a security mechanism that generate fresh codes for each authentication request, this makes it difficult for an attacker to replay the codes thereafter”. 

The commission also advised car users to store their key fobs in signal-blocking ’Faraday pouches’ when not in use. 

It cautioned car owners, especially of Honda and Acura models  to choose Passive Keyless Entry, PKE, as opposed to Remote Keyless Entry RKE, to make it harder for an attacker to read the signal because criminals would need to be at close proximity to carry out their nefarious acts. 

The PKE is an automotive security system that operates automatically when the user is in proximity to the vehicle, unlocking the door on approach or when the door handle is pulled, and also locking it when the user walks away or touches the car on exit. The RKE system, on the other hand, represents the standard solution for conveniently locking and unlocking a vehicle’s doors and luggage compartment by remote control.

Patoma Admin by — May 15, 2022 in Technology 0
Onyema confers with National Productivity Order of Merit Award

Onyema receives National Productivity Order of Merit award

By Lawani Mikairu

The Chairman of Air Peace, Barrister Allen Onyema, has been conferred with a National Productivity Order of Merit (NPOM) award by President Muhammadu Buhari .

The conferment took place today at the 19th National Productivity Day ceremony in Abuja.The award, within the Employers of Labour category, is in recognition of “Onyema’s giant strides in entrepreneurship, massive job creation and overall economic achievements”.

Other distinguished personalities in the same category are Mike Adenuga, Jim Ovia, Abdul Samad Rabiu and Chinedum Okereke.
Receiving the award, the aviation cognoscente thanked President Buhari and the Ministry of Labour headed by Senator Chris Ngige and reiterated his commitment to the Nigerian project.

He said he would continue to use his entrepreneurship to impact Nigera’s economy and carry out more social impact initiatives, adding that “Nigeria is our country and we all must do all we can to take her to greater heights’.

Recall while speaking to journalists in Abuja at an event to herald the NPOM Award ceremony, Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, said the conferment of National Productivity Order of Merit Award was a positive step by government to ” institutionalise productivity consciousness and excellence in service among workers and organisations in Nigeria towards redirecting their efforts to the growth and development of our economy”.

Ngige also said the other objectives of the Award are to ” reward the most productive workers and organisations in both public and private sectors for diligence, high performance, high productivity and research achievements.

” To also encourage and foster the spirit of healthy competition amongst workers, firms and companies in Nigeria, and encourage the spirit of self-reliance.”

Patoma Admin by — May 12, 2022 in Aviation 0
Domestic airlines call off action

By Favour Nnabugwu
Domestic airline operators , under the aegis of Airline Operators of Nigeria, AON, have called off their planned suspension of flights which was billed to commence today, Monday.
A statement signed by the President of AON, Alhaji Abdulmunaf Yunusa Sarina and endorsed by other members said they have listened to the appeal by stakeholders and the federal government for them not to withdraw their services.
The statement read: ” The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) wishes to inform the general public that further to numerous calls from the highest echelons in government with promises to urgently intervene in the crises being faced by airlines due to the astronomic and continuously rising cost of JetA1, that the AON has acceded to requests to withdraw the action for the time being while we allow for a fresh round of dialogue with government in the hope of reaching an amicable solution.”
“We have also reached this decision with the highest consideration for our esteemed customers who have been faced with uncertainty over the last few days and to enable them to have access to travel to their various destinations for the time being during the period of discussions with relevant authorities.”
“In view of the above and in the interest of national economy and security considerations, AON hereby wishes to notify the general public that the earlier announced shutdown of operations on May 9, 2022 is hereby suspended in good fate pending the outcome of hopefully fruitful engagement with government,” the AON President said.
Patoma Admin by — May 8, 2022 in Aviation 0
Domestic airlines insist on suspension of flight from tomorrow

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

All effort made to persuade airlines from shutting down may have fell into deaf ears as domestic airlines operators under the aegis of Airline Operators of Nigeria, AON, have insisted on going ahead with the suspension of flight operations with effect from tomorrow, Monday 9th, May.

A statement signed yesterday by the President of AON, Alhaji Abdulmunaf Yunusa Sarina and endorsed by other members, said there is no going back on their decision.

The statement read : ” In the light of frantic developments within the last twenty four hours since informing the general public of our decision to suspend operations in response to the astronomic and continuously rising cost of JetA1, the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) would like to state unequivocally that we stand firmly by our decision. ”

“Airline operators are patriotic citizens and we are doing all we can to protect the flying public contrary to what some subjective schools of thought might suggest. This is a collective sacrifice for the common interest of our nation”.

“AON however regrets the unfortunate position taken by one of our members, Ibom Air, not to stand by the collective decision. While they may have their reasons for doing what they did, it is pertinent to note that they equally accepted in their statement that the JetA1 situation poses an “existential threat to the air transport industry in Nigeria” and that “the out-of-control situation is simply unsustainable.”

“May we use this medium to clearly state that; “Airlines are not on strike. We are private investors who do not run our airlines with public funds to be able to continue to pay upfront in cash at N700 per litre for JetA1 which has increased our cost on daily basis to about 95%. This is totally unsustainable. And its consequences, if allowed to stay, will be borne by the passengers; which is what we are trying to prevent. ”

” To this end therefore, we remain resolute in our resolve to find a lasting solution to this crucial problem of national emergency and once again use this medium to appeal to the conscience of our esteemed passengers for their understanding”, The AON President added.

Patoma Admin by — May 8, 2022 in Aviation 0
Domestic airlines to shut down operations with effect from Monday … say aviation fuel now N700 per litre

By Favour Nnabugwu
 
Domestic  airlines operators has announced that will shut down operations from Monday, May 9, 2022 due to the high cost of aviation fuel which has hit N700 per litre.
A statement issued and signed by all the airline operators today advised the traveling public who intend to fly to make alternative arrangements to avoid being stranded at the country’s airports.
The statement read : ” It is with a great sense of responsibility and patriotism that the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON)  have carried on deploying and subsidizing their services to our highly esteemed Nigerian flying public in the last four months despite the steady and astronomical hike in the price of JetA1 and other operating costs.”
“Overtime, aviation fuel price (JetA1) has risen from N190 per litre to N700 currently. No airline in the world can absorb this kind of sudden shock from such an astronomical rise over a short period. While aviation fuel worldwide is said to cost about 40% of an airline’s operating cost globally, the present hike has shut up Nigeria’s operating cost to about 95%. “.
” In the face of this, airlines have engaged the Federal Government, the National Assembly, NNPC and Oil Marketers with the view to bringing the cost of JetA1 down which has currently made the unit cost per seat for a one hour flight in Nigeria today to an average of N120,000″.
“The latter cannot be fully passed to passengers who are already experiencing a lot of difficulties.”
“While AON appreciates the efforts of the current government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure air transport in Nigeria grows, unfortunately, the cost of aviation fuel has continued to rise unabated thereby creating huge pressure on the sustainability of operations and financial viability of the airlines. This is unsustainable and
the airlines can no longer absorb the pressure.”
“To this end therefore, the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) hereby wishes to regrettably inform the general public that member airlines will discontinue operations nationwide with effect from Monday May 9, 2022 until further notice.”
“AON uses this medium to humbly state that we regret any inconveniences this very difficult decision might cause and
appeal to travelers to kindly reconsider their travel itinerary and make alternative arrangements”, Alhaji  Abdulmunaf Yunusa Sarina, President, AON advised.
Patoma Admin by — May 6, 2022 in Aviation 0
NCC gives final approval for 5G roll-out to MTN, Mafab

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, the Executive Vice Chairman, Prof Umar Danbatta has conveyed the federal government approval of MTN Nigeria and MAFAB Communications to commence the roll out of 5G services in the country.

The approval certifies that the two operators who emerged winners of the 3.5 gigahertz (GHz) spectrum auction in December 2021 have satisfied all necessary requirements to roll out the innovative service in the country after the NCC came out from a meeting.

It also gives the operators time to meet up the August 2022 deadline to roll out services as the Information Memorandum of the auction stipulated.

The Commission, had on February 24, 2022, confirmed the full payment of $273.6 million each by the two spectrum winners, in addition to spectrum assignment fee paid by MTN, for the 5G spectrum licence.

Danbatta who dropped the hint yesterday, that he had conveyed the message to the operators said, “the commission has issued final letters of award of the Fifth Generation (5G) Spectrum Licences to MTN and Mafab Communications, winners of the 3.5 gigahertz (GHz) spectrum auction conducted by the Commission on Monday, December 13, 2021” .

A Statement from the Director Public Affairs of the Commission, Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, said that “with the issuance of the final letters of awards of 5G spectrum and in line with the 5G auction’s Information Memorandum (IM), the two licensees are now expected to accelerate deployment of 5G network that will usher Nigeria into a more robust Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and a more digitised Nigerian economy among the comity of nations.

Terms and conditions of the 5G licence, mandates the licensees to commence rollout of 5G services, effective from August 24, 2022.

While the licensees are expected to meet the timetable regarding their 5G network rollout obligations, the NCC says it required collective efforts and support of the private-sector towards transforming every aspect of the nation’s economy through 5G, which will herald greater transformation than what the nation witnessed with the 1G, 2G, 3G and 4G.

The 5G network, when deployed, will bring huge benefits and opportunities that will engender accelerated growth and smart living in the country.

The technology is also expected to bring substantial network improvements, including higher connection speed, mobility and capacity, as well as low-latency capabilities.

The Commission said it is optimistic that effective implementation of the National Policy on 5G will accelerate the actualisation of the national targets in the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2020-2025, the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020-2030, as well as other sectoral policies designed to enhance Nigeria’s digital transformation.

Patoma Admin by — May 4, 2022 in Technology 0
Telcos demand 40% increase on voice calls, SMS, data

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

Nigerians are to witness a 40 percent increase in voice calls and data tarrifs  by  telecommunications operators, telcos in the country.

The increase it was informed was due to high cost of diesel to operate their businesses, incessant harrasssments and frivolous taxes and levies imposed on them by all manner of agencies from the three tiers of government.

The telcos who spoke to Vanguard on the issue, said the development, is being handled by their umbrella body, the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria, ALTON.

It is reliably gathered that ALTON has already sent a letter to the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, seeking the upward review of tarrifs by 40 percent.

If approved, the services that will be affected include voice calls, short message services, SMS, and data services.
The telcos want the N6.4 per second current cost of voice calls jerked up to N8. 95 while short message services will move from N4. 00 to N5. 61.

ALTON’s letter to NCC highlighted a few operational issues which the regulator should consider to approve the request.
They include rising cost of business operation due to high cost of diesel, and other energy sources, recent introduction of excise duty of five per cent on telecom services, and increased burden of multiple taxes and levies on the industry.

The telcos say these increments, jerk their operating expenses by over 35 per cent.
Part of the letter sighted by Vanguard reads: “As the commission may be aware, the power sector under the supervision of its Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission in November 2020 undertook a review of electricity tariffs to cater for the economic headwinds.

“In view of the foregoing, ALTON considers it expedient for the telecommunications sector to undergo periodic cost adjustments through the commission’s intervention to minimise the impact of the challenging economic issues faced by our members.

“ Details are: Upward review of the price determination for voice and data and SMS. Given the state of the economy and the circa 40 per cent increase in the cost of doing business, we wish to request an interim administrative review of the mobile (voice) termination rate for voice; administrative data floor price, and cost of SMS as reflected in extant instruments.

“With respect to voice and SMS cost, ALTON respectfully requests the commission to consider a mark-up approach to address the upward price adjustment desirable for the industry. We have enclosed herein and marked ‘Annexure 1’our proposal in that regard.

“For data services, we wish to request that the commission implements the recommendations in the August 2020 KPMG report on the determination of cost-based pricing for wholesale and retail broadband service in Nigeria.
” Excerpts from the report are attached and marked ‘Annexure 2’ to provide a further illustration.

“In implementing the said recommendations, however, we recommend that the 40 per cent increase in the cost of doing business be factored in to arrive at a cost price per GB in view of the current economic situation.”

The group also highlighted other demands to the commission such as to explore other penalties for operators other than punitive monetary sanctions, extend the payment timeline of relevant regulatory levies and fees, prevail on the federal government to sign the executive order declaring telecoms infrastructure as a critical national infrastructure to mitigate cost spent replacing damaged and stolen infrastructures, among others.

It added that the Mobile (Voice) Termination Rate (MTR) for voice, administrative data floor price and cost of SMS as reflected in extant instruments should also be increased.

The ALTON letter added: “For large operators, a new interim MTR of N5.46 from N3.90 reflecting 40 per cent increase in the cost of business.

“For small operators, the new interim MTR of N6.58 from N4.70 reflects a 40 per cent increase in the cost of business.”

Patoma Admin by — May 4, 2022 in Technology 0
Monsoon preparation: Mumbai Airport to close for 6 hours on May 10

By admin

 

One of India’s busiest airports, Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), will be non-operational for six hours on May 10th.

The airport will be closed for 6 hours as the monsoon season approaching, the airport’s runways need to be prepped for the heavy rainfall that Mumbai witnesses every year.

Continuing with its yearly practice of pre-monsoon repairs and maintenance, Mumbai airport will close its runways from 11:00 to 17:00 on May 10th. CSMIA has posted an official tweet that says that “all operations will resume as usual post 17:00 hrs on the same day.”

Every year ahead of monsoon, Mumbai airport preps its runways for the heavy rains it experiences, particularly from July onwards. CSMIA spokesperson has advised passengers scheduled to fly in and out of Mumbai that day to check with their respective airlines about the change in schedule.

The airport has issued a Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) to all stakeholders in order to manage flights and reduce passengers’ inconvenience.

The monsoon season can be tough on Mumbai, with the city often coming to a standstill following heavy downpours and the resulting waterlogging. In the past, the city has even had to shut rail and air services as it gets flooded and clogged with water.

Mumbai airport, too, faces the brunt of severe rains, particularly when it comes to its runways. In 2010, the airport had to close its runway after its surface was damaged due to heavy rains.

Landing in Mumbai during the monsoons can also be challenging at times for pilots. In 2019, A SpiceJet 737 coming from Jaipur overshot the runway while landing amid heavy rain. The incident led to the shutdown of the main runway of the Mumbai airport, with flights canceled or diverted to the nearby airports. The aircraft was stuck at the end of the runway for days before it could be pulled out.

Sometimes, just getting to the airport in Mumbai can be a challenge when it rains incessantly. In 2019, passengers were stranded at Mumbai airport for hours, with waterlogging on roads and the subsequent traffic jams making it difficult for ground support staff, cabin crew, and pilots to reach the airport on time.

In the past, the airport has also been flooded when the nearby Mithi River overflowed during heavy rains. In 2021, floodgates were installed at the junction where the river flows into the airport to stop the ingress of water.

This year, monsoon prep is particularly important for Mumbai as domestic traffic picks back up. Mumbai airport was the worst affected among all major Indian airports in 2020-21. While passenger numbers are still below pre-COVID days, the airport also registered the highest growth in passenger numbers in 2021-22.

CSMIA has witnessed steady growth in air traffic and passenger footfall ever since India opened its borders to scheduled international flights in March. In the last month alone, the airport saw more than 600,000 passengers.

Clearly, it needs a fully functional runway in the months ahead, as passengers increasingly take to the skies in India.

Patoma Admin by — May 3, 2022 in Aviation 0
Workers Day: FG yet to address labour issues in Airport concession- Union

Workers Day : Union says FG yet to address labour issues in Airport concession
National Union of Air Transport Employee,  NUATE, yesterday said that the federal government is yet to address all the labour issues raised by aviation workers unions in the ongoing concession of the nation’s four international airports.
Speaking on the the occasion to mark this year’s workers day, the President of NUATE, Comrade Ben K. Nnabue said the union will confront the federal government this week on the issues raised and may likely go on strike if not addressed.
Nnabue said : “Our union is unsatisfied with ongoing discussions around the big question of airports concession. We are unclear as to government’s actual response the demands of aviation unions on labour issues and many lapses in the concession programme”.
” In the coming weeks, important decisions will be made to chart a clear path towards ameliorating already stated demands of workers.”.
Also speaking on the minimum wage, the NUATE President said , ” The twin big issues of Minimum Wage Consequential Adjustment and Conditions of Service for the aviation Agencies are currently raging. We stand firmly by the decision of workers not to accept continuing shifting of the goal post by government agencies on these issues. Therefore, this week has been set out for major decisions and subsequent decisive actions that will bring these issues to a foreclosure.”
He also said that, “in like manner, we express our frustration at the dilly-dallying attitude of the BPE in attending to the negotiated redundancy benefits of ex-staff of SAHCO, a matter pending since 2009. Let me assure the affected ex-workers that the unions have gone so far and cannot retreat on the matter at this point. We are at the verge of final solution, failing which we shall take decisive actions towards seeking justice for the victims.”
On the current state of the aviation industry, he expressed frustration that “before we could feel the relief from the waning notorious Corona virus, our industry was greeted with the double punch of the Putin war on Ukraine and skyrocketing aviation fuel price. Against the background of negative travelers’ reaction to recent air fare increases, these multiple adversities have been exceedingly crippling, particularly for airlines. This has delayed the exit of our industry from recession.”
“As expected, your union has been seriously challenged by the current pall surrounding the aviation industry. Notwithstanding, however, your Union has been proving equal to the task, even making notable strides to the bargain,” he added.
Patoma Admin by — May 1, 2022 in Aviation 0