Transport
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...
NAHCO workers to embark on two-day warning strike June 1
The Air Transport Senior Staff Services Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) have directed the staff of the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) currently on essential duties to withdraw all services on the 1st and 2nd June following the breakdown in negotiations on their welfare. This is despite the management of NAHCO saying that they are currently engaging the unions to make sure the impasse is resolved without any industrial action. A letter jointly signed by both General Secretary, NUATE, Ocheme Aba, and Deputy General Secretary, Frances Akinjole read: ‘Following the stalemated management–union meeting of Wednesday 20th May 2020 where management attempted to unwittingly reduce to a mere technical excursion our magnanimity of ...
RTEAN commends Lagos governor on road reconstruction, virus response
File Photo The Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Lagos State Chapter, on Friday commended Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State on how his administration had been reconstructing roads and combating COVID-19 pandemic in the state. Alhaji Mohammed Musa, RTEAN State Chairman, gave the commendation in an interview with newsmen in Lagos, while speaking on Sanwo-Olu-led administration ‘s performance in his first year in office. Musa said: “We cannot forget that most roads were impassable when Sanwo-Olu assumed office as a result of the continuous rainfall which compounded hardships faced by motorists. “We can all see how the governor has put machinery in place to ensure continuous road repairs while construction work is ongoing in others. We must thank the governor for th...
Nigeria releases new guidelines for international flights operations
Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority , NCAA, Thursday, released new guidelines for international flights operations during the current Covid-19 pandemic for Nigerian based crew. Under the new rules, Nigerian crew operating international flights must now wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and observe Infection, Prevention and Control (IPC) measures for the duration of the flight. This is just as the flight crew will now undergo mandatory testing for Covid-19 every 14 days at cost to the Air Operator upon return to Nigeria , instead of the current quarantine in an isolated place they are currently subjected to. Also, any of the crew members who test positive for Covid-19 will be taken to a treatment centre for further management. The new release with reference NCAA/DG/AIR/11/16/120 , dated...
NIMASA dispatches team to investigate Ondo offshore fire
Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has sent an investigative team to unravel the circumstances surrounding a recent fire incident at a wellhead offshore in Ondo State. The NIMASA Director-General, Dr Bashir Jamoh, disclosed this in a statement signed by Mr Philip Kyanet, NIMASA Head of Corporate Communications on Thursday in Lagos. Jamoh pointed out that the incident involved a barge belonging to Michharry and Company Nigeria Limited, an offshore and onshore facilities provider for the oil and gas industry. He noted that the officers from the Maritime Safety and Seafarers Standard Department (MSSSD) and Marine Environment Management (MEM) Department of the Agency would conduct both on-the-spot assessment and detailed analysis of the incident. “As the national agenc...
50 ships with petroleum products, food items to arrive Lagos ports
Fifty ships laden with petroleum products, food items and other goods are expected at the TinCan Island Port and the Lagos Port Complex from May 20 to June 3. The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) made this known in its publication, `Shipping Position’, a copy of which was made available to newsmen in Lagos on Wednesday. It said that the ships contained vehicles, containers, bulk wheat, inballast, general cargo, sulphur in jumbo bag, base oil, frozen fish, bulk fertiliser, butane gas, petrol and automobile gasoline. The NPA said that another 50 ships that had arrived the ports were waiting to berth with container, used vehicles, bulk wheat, bulk malt, frozen fish, Jet A1, petrol and automobile gasoline. It said that 26 ships were discharging container, bulk sugar, bulk wheat, butane gas, gene...
Akwa Ibom takes delivery of fourth aircraft for Ibom Air
The Akwa Ibom State Government, on Tuesday, took delivery of the fourth aircraft in the fleet of Ibom Air. Speaking during the delivery of a Bombardier CRJ 900 aircraft, Governor Udom Emmanuel said the aircraft was still within warranty of planes in domestic aviation. Emmanuel said the arrival of the plane was in fulfillment of the business case and operational timetable that had been set by the government. “This is the latest in the addition to this fleet. I don’t want to be boastful, but check the domestic flights in Africa. “I want to believe when you have an airplane that is still within warranty in domestic aviation, you can hit your chest and praise yourself, even if no one does that. “We had a dream and I shared that dream with just one man; we held our hands and started the documen...
Emirates plans to cut about 30,000 jobs amid virus outbreak
Emirates Group is planning to cut about 30,000 jobs to reduce costs amid the coronavirus outbreak, which will bring down its number of employees by about 30 per cent from more than 105,000. A media reported on Sunday that the company was also considering speeding up the planned retirement of its A380 fleet. An Emirates spokeswoman said that no public announcement has been made yet by the company regarding “redundancies at the airline”, but that the company is conducting a review of “costs and resourcing against business projections”. “Any such decision will be communicated in an appropriate fashion. Like any responsible business would do, our executive team has directed all departments to conduct a thorough review of costs and resourcing against business projections,” the spokeswoman said....
Toyota predicts 79.5% drop in profit
Agence France-Presse Toyota on Tuesday said it expected a 79.5 percent drop in its annual operating profit this fiscal year as it suffers “significant” fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The Japanese auto giant declined to give a net profit forecast for the fiscal year to March 2021 but noted that the impact of the crisis on its business was “wide-ranging, significant and serious”. The company now expects an annual operating profit of 500 billion yen ($4.6 billion), down 79.5 percent from the 2.44 trillion yen logged in the past year to March. Toyota forecast a near-20 percent drop in annual sales to 24 trillion yen, compared with 29.93 trillion yen achieved in the past fiscal year. The company’s net profit for the past year to March came to 2.076 trillion yen, up 10.3 percent on the y...
South African Airways to continue honouring flight obligations
South African Airways has announced that it will continue to honour its flight obligations to cargo and evacuation flight customers all through this month. This is despite the clash in the expectations of the way forward for the ailing airlines which is already under business rescue. In a statement, the airline says while the disputes are being ironed out ,evacuee passenger and cargo flights will continue all through May on a charter basis. A meeting between public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan and the business rescue practitioners are meeting today to chart the way forward. Earlier it was announced that May 8 (today) will be the last day of operations for the airline. South Africa Airways which was last run profitably in 2011, has been under business rescue since early this year aft...
