Tuesday 28 March 2017

Qatar Airways hastens India push, plans 100 new jets amid Modi’s aviation drive



Qatar Airways Ltd may order 100 new jetliners before the end of this year to power its push into India and also plans to announce two new routes to the UK even as the country prepares to exit the European Union, chief executive officer Akbar Al Baker said.

Ghana to become the hub of air transport in West Africa



Mrs Cecilia Abena Dapaah, the Minister of Aviation, on Monday reiterated government’s commitment to partner the private sector to establish a national carrier that would restore the national pride.

NCAA Fines South African Carrier Lyxor N9.5m For Operating Illegally In Nigeria



The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has sanctioned a non-scheduled South African air carrier, Lyxor International, for operating illegally in Nigeria for over two months.

Outrage as US Airlines bars girls in leggings



United Airlines has incurred social media outrage after barring two  teenage girls wearing leggings from boarding  its flight from Denver in Colorado to Minneapolis  on Sunday.

Monday 13 March 2017

Close call: Boeing 737 almost crashes into the water while landing into St. Maarten



Every aviation enthusiast knows about the approach to St. Maarten’s famous Princess Juliana Airport and the remarkable views of aircraft landing there from Maho Beach directly in front of the runway threshold.

Emirates boss denies reports of Etihad merger



Emirates (EK, Dubai Int'l) President Tim Clarke has rejected reports in the international press alluding to possible merger talks between Dubai-based Emirates and its Abu Dhabi-based rival Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi Int'l).

Thursday 9 February 2017

Singapore Airlines in $13.8 bn Boeing deal



Singapore Airlines said Thursday it had ordered 39 Boeing passenger planes worth $13.8 billion as it seeks to expand its capacity in the face of growing competition.

Air India operations head taken off flying duty for evading pre-flight medical test



Air India announced it would no longer assign any flying duties to its operations department head for skipping the mandatory pre-flight medical test, reported news agency PTI.

Ghana to get airline soon – Aviation Minister-designate assures



Aviation Minister-designate, Cecelia Abena Dapaah has assured Ghana will get a national airline within two years.

Arik Air vows to challenge Nigerian govt. takeover



The management of Arik Air on Thursday said it would challenge the taking over of the airline by the Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) in court.

Nigerian govt. takes over distressed Arik airlines, appoints new management



The Federal Government on Thursday took over Arik Airlines and announced the appointment of a new management in a bid to save the country’s aviation industry from total collapse.

Wednesday 8 February 2017

Mentally unstable man threatens to crash Delhi-Mumbai Jet flight



Passengers of a Delhi-Mumbai flight were tucking into their meal on Saturday morning when a flyer stood up, threw his food tray and said he had taken control of the plane and would crash it.

How Military Pilots Keep Rogue Planes Out of No-Fly Zones



YOU’RE A PRIVATE pilot, out on a Sunday jaunt in your single engine prop plane. Lovely day for a flight—calm skies, good weather. Then you hear, feel, and then see the fast approach of two, grey, angular military jets, flying terrifyingly close to you, most definitely armed and dangerous.

Wednesday 1 February 2017

Med-View Airlines lists on Nigeria Stock Exchange, eyes N58b growth



Med-View Airlines yesterday listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) offering N9.75 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N1.50 per share, indicating a start-off market capitalisation of N14.63 billion.

Tuesday 31 January 2017

SIA casts net wide to hire more cadet pilots



Singapore Airlines (SIA) is actively reaching out to more nationalities, as it ramps up its cadet pilot recruitment to meet future needs.

Kenya Airways Marks 40 Years Of Aviation Excellency



Kenya Airways has marked its 40th anniversary as a dedicated and highly successful airline, since its incorporation in 1977.

UK airport introduces flights without security checks for first time in almost 50 years



At 9.15am on Monday 30 January, a piece of aviation history was made. On a day when the headlines were filled with tougher US restrictions on travellers, including “extreme vetting” of some nationalities, Scottish aviation made a move for more relaxed, passenger-friendly travel.

Arik Air boosts B787 order book



Nigeria's Arik Air has revised its Boeing order book, reports ch-aviation.

Airlines in Nigeria make N330.59bn from tickets sales in 10 months



The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has disclosed that airlines operating in Nigeria realised about N330.59 billion from ticket sales between January and October last year.

Flight crew swap shifts in Trump ban



Major airlines including Deutsche Lufthansa and Emirates are modifying staff rosters to keep crew members from getting caught up in President Donald Trump's executive order barring people from seven predominantly Muslim states from entering the U.S.

Thursday 26 January 2017

American Airlines does away with screens



American Airlines is getting rid of seat-back screens in its new fleet of domestic Boeing aircraft.

State blocks Emirates’ third flight to Kenya



The government has withdrawn commercial aviation rights for Emirates Airlines to operate a third daily flight to Kenya.

Government asks Qatar to start airline in India



The civil aviation ministry has asked the Qatar government, which runs Qatar Airways, to start an airline in India and participate in the country’s growth story.

NAMA, Air Peace disagree over Flight Return from Enugu Airport



Officials of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and management of Air Peace Airlines yesterday traded blames over circumstances that caused an Enugu bound aircraft, to return to Lagos, its take off point, without landing as its destination airport was closed.

Monday 23 January 2017

United Airlines Domestic Flights Grounded for 2 Hours by Computer Outage



All of United Airlines' domestic flights were grounded for more than two hours Sunday night because of a computer outage, the Federal Aviation Administration said as scores of angry travelers sounded off on social media.

Nigeria’s aviation sector hits turbulence



Nigeria may consider itself a regional aviation hub but years of mismanagement and now recession have blighted domestic airline operations, making delays and cancelations the norm.

Tuesday 17 January 2017

Ghana to open new domestic airports at Ho and Wa



Two new domestic airports are set to open in Ghana, as part of the government's plan to ensure each of the country's ten regions has an airport. Ho Airport, in the Volta Region of Ghana's south east, is a brand new facility, while Wa, in the Upper West Region, has undergone extensive renovations.

Could an iPhone Battery Have Played a Role in EgyptAir Crash?



Some French investigators think a co-pilot’s iPad mini 4 or iPhone 6s may be linked to the mysterious crash of EgyptAir flight MS804, which went down on May 19th of last year, killing 66. The theory, which has no official status and has been dismissed by some commentators, was disclosed to French newspaper Le Parisien by unnamed sources.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370: underwater search called off



The underwater search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has come to an end, with passengers’ families informed that the effort to find the plane has been suspended.

Thursday 12 January 2017

Air pilot 'pulled wrong lever' on plane, killing 92



A Russian military plane plunged into the sea killing all 92 people on board after a co-pilot mistakenly pulled a lever to operate the wing flaps, it is thought.

Zim plane crash: Ownership of cargo remains unclear



An engine failure caused a private plane carrying gold to crash-land in southern Zimbabwe, injuring two people on Tuesday, officials say, but ownership of the cargo still remains unclear.

Last United 747 flights: A sign of aviation progress?



United Airlines president Scott Kirby announced through a company-wide memo that United would be retiring its “Queen of the Skies” 747 aircraft by the end of 2017.

Med-View Airline to list on Nigerian Stock Exchange



One of Nigeria’s domestic carriers, Med-View Airline, will on Tuesday, January 31, lists its shares valued at N14.63 billion by way of introduction on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
Med-View Airline will be listing 9.75 billion units of its shares at N1.50 per share, sources close to this development told BusinessDay on Wednesday.

Airbus Sets New Delivery Record, Meets Sales Goal for 2016



On the day Airbus handed over the first A321 of a landmark 100-aircraft order for a mix of single-aisle and widebody aircraft to Iran Air, Airbus Commercial Aircraft president Fabrice Brégier revealed that the airframer delivered a record number of 688 aircraft during the year, including 111 in December alone, and expects the figure to top 700 in 2017.

Wednesday 11 January 2017

Ethiopian Airlines secures AfDB financing



Ethiopian Airlines has secured a US$159mn loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to help finance its expansion plan and fleet modernisation programme.

Under African Skies: Abuja’s airport fiasco



In July 2012, aviation experts and diplomats from across the African continent met in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, to figure out how to fix Africa’s disastrous aviation safety record.

Buhari sacks 4 heads of aviation agencies, names replacements



Four heads of parastatal agencies and college in the nation’s aviation industry have been sacked, according to a government statement.

FAA Issues General Aviation Medical Rule



The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today issued a final rule (PDF) that allows general aviation pilots to fly without holding an FAA medical certificate as long as they meet certain requirements outlined in Congressional legislation.

Sirika wants Open skies to grow Africa’s aviation



Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has said that for the aviation industry to be transformed in Nigeria in particular and Africa in general, the principle of Yamoussoukro Decision whose focus is the liberalization of the airspace, should be made sacrosanct.

How worried should we be about drunk pilots? Case of Sunwing pilot uncommon but not unique



The prospect of a pilot passed out drunk in the cockpit shortly before take off with 99 passengers on board — as police alleged happened last week on a flight from Calgary to Cancun — is about as scary a flight tale as any passenger would want, short of a crash or hijacking.

Nigeria installs windshear alert system in 13 airports



The Federal Government has installed the Low Level Windshear Alert System, LLWAS, at the Umar Musa Yar’Adua Airport Katsina and 12 others to ensure safety.

Lost luggage, endless delays and a broken runway: the perils of Nigerian air travel


Local travelers endure immense amounts of stress getting around Africa’s most populous country by air. The biggest airports are usually overcrowded with poor air conditioning while check-in desks overflow with passengers trying to get on to planes which can be canceled after hours of delay.

Nigerian Aviation Industry in 2016



The year 2016 was very challenging for Nigeria as the country entered into an economic recession which affected almost all the sectors of its economy.

Snake on a plane grounds Emirates flight



There was no sign of Samuel L Jackson, but a snake on a plane led to the cancellation of a flight from Muscat to Dubai on Sunday.

Iran Air takes ownership of first new-build Western aircraft



Iran Air (IR, Tehran Mehrabad) has taken ownership of its first A321-200 (sl) marking the first official delivery of a new aircraft to Iran by a Western manufacturer since 1994.

Airline fatalities rose in 2016 but the year was still one of the safest in decades


Fans pay tribute to the players of Brazilian team Chapecoense Real who were killed in a plane accident in the Colombian mountains on Nov. 29. (Heuler Andrey /Getty Images)
The November crash of a flight carrying a Brazilian soccer team, which killed all but six of the 77 people on board, was one of 18 fatal airline crashes in 2016, an increase from 14 fatal aviation accidents in 2015, according the Aviation Safety Network.

Drone smashes into Boeing passenger plane during landing



A drone smashed into a Boeing plane with 80 passengers and 6 crew on board, causing substantial damage to the aircraft as it prepared to land at an airport in Mozambique.

Boeing delivers fewer airplanes in 2016, but not by much



It’s hard to top a record year for airplane deliveries, and that was certainly the case for Boeing in 2016.

Saturday 7 January 2017

What are the world's safest airlines for 2017?



Good news has been in short supply the last 12 months, but for nervous fliers there's one ray of light: 2016 was one of the safest years in aviation history.

New Nigerian national airline begins operation in 2017 – Minister



Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, Wednesday, assured that Nigeria’s new national airline will commence scheduled flight operations before the end of 2017.

FG approves weapons for Aviation Security



The Federal Government has approved that the Aviation Security personnel should bear arms to enhance the security of passengers and installations across the nation’s airports.

Arik Air threatens disruptive customers, vows ‘all measures’



Arik Air on Thursday lamented incessant attacks by some aggrieved passengers on its staff and property at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.