Defaulting Airlines’ Passengers Risk $3,500 Fine, FG Bans India, Others’ Flights

The Federal Government on Wednesday reviewed the quarantine protocols for travellers coming into the country.

The protocol is expected to be effective from July 2.

According to a statement by the Chairman, Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, non-Nigerian passport holders and non-residents who visited Brazil, India, Turkey or South Africa within 14 days preceding travel to Nigeria would be denied entry into the country.

He said the regulation did not apply to passengers who transited through these countries.

Mustapha stated that defaulting airlines would pay $3,500 as fine for each defaulting passenger; adding that passengers on board who are non-Nigerians would be denied entry and returned to the country at cost to the airline.

The statement was titled ‘COVID-19 response: Provisional quarantine protocol for travellers arriving in Nigeria’.

He said, “Non-Nigerian passport holders and non-residents who visited Brazil, India, Turkey or South Africa within 14 days preceding travel to Nigeria, shall be denied entry into Nigeria. This regulation, however, does not apply to passengers who transited through these countries. Read More

250 Aviation Key Players to Jaw-jaw at LAAC Conference

Total Nigeria Plc, Nigeria Aviation Safety Initiative (NASI), Association of Aviation Ground Handlers (ACHAN) and other major key players across the aviation sector have been scheduled to deliver papers at the upcoming League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) Conference

This year edition of the conference with the theme: ‘Nigeria Aviation Industry: Management, Policy and Regulation’, is slated for July 28, 2021, at Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.

While the General Manager, Total Nigeria Plc, Mr. Rabiu Abdulmutalib is billed to speak on ‘Aviation Operations, Jet A1: Challenges and Solutions’; the Chairman, Governing Council, Aviation Safety Initiative (NASI) Captain Dung Pam will deliver a paper on the topic: ‘Nigeria Airlines: Management, Policy and Regulation’ while the Chairman, Association of Aviation Ground Handlers (ACHAN), Mr Olaniyi Adigun will speak on: ‘Ground Handling in Nigeria: Management, Policy and Regulation’,

With the Ministry of Aviation leading the industry big wings to the conference, all the aviation agencies, including: Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Accident Investigation Bureau, Nigeria (AIB-N), Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria and Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) have equally expressed their desire to be fully involved in the whole arrangements. Read More

Olateru Emphasizes Importance of Drones in Accident Investigation

Nigeria’s Commissioner, Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Mr Akin Olateru, has said that the acquisition of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), otherwise known as drones would help to improve accident investigation by the agency.

Olateru, an aircraft engineer, while citing how before now, in order to obtain the aerial images of accident sites, the Accident Investigation Authorities (AIAs) had to rely on police or search and rescue helicopters or go the more expensive way- charter helicopters, lamented that images obtained this way would not always capture the angle or details required, and how more often than not, the images would take about a week or more after the accident to arrive.

According to him, the availability of relatively cheap off-the-shelve drones has opened new opportunities and the accident investigation sector is not left behind.

His words, “Accident investigators in aviation and other means of transportation have taken advantage of the aerial photo and video capturing technologies installed on the small quadcopters to expedite their on-site tasks. Having the investigator in control of the drone’s camera, all the angles and details that are needed can now be captured as required. Read More

How ‘Africa to Africa Tourism Promotion’ by NANTA Boosts Air Traffic

The leadership of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies has revealed how the Africa to Africa Tourism Promotion initiative chiselled out of Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA), by the association had opened up windows of profitable passengers capacity for Egypt Air.

The airline which was among the four African carriers — RwandAir, Kenya Airways, and Ethiopian Airlines — pooled by NANTA President, Mrs Susan Akporiaye about three months ago, to kickstart innovative Africa to Africa Tourism Promotion geared towards driving and facilitating Intra African trade and tourism, has seen the passengers traffic of Egypt Air on the rise, since COVID-19 which slowed down travel business across board.

Akporiaye described the cheerful report of patronage by the NANTA members under the scheme, as instructive of the values of collaboration under the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) and to which the four airlines have committed to support through commercial aviation platform.

Her words: “I have received calls of appreciation from the management of Egypt Air, commending NANTA members for coming out with trade and tour groups since we birthed the agenda and you won’t believe it, all flights for shopping and holidays are headed towards Cairo and as the summer beckons, we expect Nigerians who are used to Dubai, will find Cairo a better and inspiring alternative.

She reiterated that the Africa to Africa Tourism Promotion initiative by the association in collaboration with the airlines, would grow bigger and better, keeping the airlines busy and profitable all the round the year and NANTA members smiling to the bank.

“It promises to be better for the airlines and NANTA members as we partner and grow together. We shall soon make available to doubting Thomases the statistics of passengers growth capacity which our initiative have contributed to profitability of the carriers in these tough times.”

Nigeria Will Not Be Shortchanged in FG’s Airports’ Concession Project

The federal government has assured that Nigeria and Nigerians will not be shortchanged in its planned airport concession policy.

This is just as it announced that it would finalize the concessioning of the four international airports across the country between July and August this year.

Speaking at the end of the 2021 Airport Business Summit and Expo held at the Lagos airport, the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, who took time to reveal the efforts so far made to ensure due diligence was followed in contrast to the notion that the concession plan was flawed with secrecy, equally assured that there would be no job loss while the concession would provide more opportunity to engage more hands in the system.

Sirika who said that in his 37 years in aviation, Nigeria has never had a government as transparent as the present one, listed efforts he had put in place to ensure all key players including labour unions were carried along.

According to Sirika, the fact that it has taken this government six years to prepare the ground for the concessioning could only point to the fact that the government did not want to do a shoddy job.

The minister used the opportunity to reveal that before the end of this month, that the government will commence the running of advertisements calling for bidding from interested concessionaires for the airports.

The call for interested bidders, he said, will be followed by an evaluation of the interested bidders and subsequent submission of proposals from the qualified bidders. Read More

Sources: The Punch, Tribune