284 ESCAPE NEAR MISAHAP AT MMIA

Qatar Airways Airbus A330-200

There was tension in the aviation industry Saturday amid speculation  that there was an incident involving a Qatar Airways Airbus 332 with 284 passengers onboard on its way to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos from Doha, Quatar.
The aircraft had an emergency landing around 1:04 p.m. at MMIA because of low pressure in the tyres in the under carriage of the aircraft. The tyres in the under carriage of the aircraft  burst  as it made contact with the runway due to low pressure.
While the Qatar Airways Airbus 332 aircraft took off in Doha Quatar, the pilot of the airline discovered that the tyres in the under carriage had low pressure; so he had to contact the airlines  staff  in their station in Nigeria  to inform the ATC on duty to make  precautionary arrangement to salvage the situation on landing.
He further noted that no sooner than the aircraft landed than it got stuck at the cargo side of the runway , preventing other planes  from using the runway until it was toed with a push back tractor to the apron of the airport in order to disembark the passengers on board.
As soon as the aircraft landed, it was escorted by four fire tenders and one operational vehicle to the apron side of the airport in case of any fire outbreak.
Scores of fire fighters belonging to FAAN, Lagos State Fire Service and Julius Berger, and ambulance vehicles were mobilised at the cargo unit of the airport preparatory to the aircraft landing.
Even, officials of the Lagos State emergency management agency were fully mobilised to the airport in the event of a possible accident
Meanwhile, the Director General of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr Harold Demuren, explained that the pilot of the aircraft took precautionary steps to land the plane.
He confirmed that the aircraft had low pressure in the tyres in the under carriage.
Kudus to the Flight Crew!!!

FG READY TO FLOAT NEW NATIONAL CARRIER

The Ministry of Aviation with full support of the Presidency has concluded plans to float a new national carrier in partnership with one of Europe's mega carriers, rumor has it that either Lufthansa German Airlines or Turkish Airlines is going to be a partner.
The mega carrier, which presently operates into the country is to provide technical support that would include maintenance, infrastructure, training of pilots, engineers and other technical personnel, route development and contribute to the development and expansion of the curriculum at the Nigeria College of Aviation Technology, Zaria.
The ownership structure will have zero government control in terms of management and equity holding but its controlling shares would be owned by Nigeria, who will become stakeholders through the sale of Initial Public Offer (IPO), while the partner airline would have management control and 49 per cent stake holding the proposed national carrier would be wholly privately owned and would operate in partnership with an international airline.
He explained that it might be an entirely new airline with foreign partnership or an existing one that can emerge as a national carrier but what is clear now is that government will not play any role in its ownership and control. It will be owned by Nigerians through IPO, although the template of that is still being worked on.
"This is long overdue. This country needs a major flag carrier to be able to meet Nigeria's aspirations. Many airlines coming to Nigeria are not reciprocated. It was Nigeria Airways that opened Lagos, Dubai route. We need to give most of these airlines that operate into the country a challenge. National carrier is inevitable and Nigerians now believe that it is long overdue.
Travel experts, have recently observed the need to have a national carrier in Nigeria.
"Nigeria cannot be the centre of African diplomacy without effective airline. It is impossible for Nigeria to lead Africa without a national carrier. It is impossible. Unfortunately we have diplomats that understand diplomacy but do not understand the extensions of diplomacy.
"We have aviation people that only understand aviation but they do not understand the travel and diplomatic import of aviation. So they are experts of their own nuclear environment but they do not understand the interdependency of these things."

STILL ON ARIK AIR'S BLACKLIST

 

 

And still on Arik Airs Blacklist. A leading stakeholder in the aviation industry has condemned Arik Air’s decision banning the managing director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr. George Uriesi, and 26 other Nigerians from boarding its aircraft as an arbitrary decision bordering on arrogance.

A former managing director of the defunct Nigeria Airways and secretary-general of Aviation Round Table (ART), Alhaji Mohammed Joji

Joji said only the pilot of an aircraft had the power to order a passenger out of the aircraft where the passenger constituted imminent security threat to the pilot and passengers on board.

He said under such circumstance, the captain of the aircraft could refuse to take off until the passenger suspected of constituting imminent danger to the flight disembarked.

Joji, who lamented that Arik Air was following the footsteps of the defunct Okada Airline by arbitrarily banning from its flights, some passengers, who disagree with the airline over certain issues, called on the press to draw the attention of the Ministry of Aviation to the behaviour of the airline.

A document widely circulated in the media on Tuesday entitled “List of passengers blacklisted on all Arik Air Flights” showed Uriesi as the first person on the list.

One Omojuwa Japhet was permanently ban for allegedly posting damaging reports about the airline on the social media after he lost his ipod in one of the airline’s flight.

Messrs Victor Ogbendah Elo, Lawal Lateef and Obayomi Osoba were also blacklisted for allegedly insulting the airline’s staff, disturbing the peace of other passengers and disrupting check-in and boarding procedures at the General Aviation Terminal, Lagos.

Also, Messrs Obiriki James and Guanah Raymos were banned for delaying flight W3 4001 on the April 28, 2012 for almost three hours, molesting the ground staff and telling check- in passengers that the aircraft was not airworthy.

Four Somalis Messrs Moulim Boubacai, Moussa Baba, Al-Laranma and Ibrahim were also banned for being declared security risk by the state security service.

Other persons blacklisted were Warsame Ahmed Abdulkadir, Abdel Rahman Wala Eldin, Mohammed Murtada Awa Alla Hamad, Bakare Lanre, Miss Davies-Fasan Adesola, Mrs. Ejilasisi Kudirat Abike, Mr. Musa Azeez Arisekola, Mr. Adesugba Sijuade Adekoya, Mr. Oluseye Yakubu Idowu and Mr. Olomiwe Peter Chukwu.

Others were Mr. Nwachukwu Austin, Mr. Orji Daniel Ikechukwu, Mr. Uzoh Himan, Mr. Adesanya David, Mr. Ikukoyi Olufemi Olukay and Grace Nkiruka Guobadia.

 






Arik Air Tuesday released a list of persons banned permanently from taking any of its operated flights to any destination.
Top on the list was the Managing Director of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Mr George Uriesi. The reasons given for the ban range from fighting Arik staff, disrupting Arik flight operations, to being declared wanted by security agencies.
The reason given for blacklisting FAAN Managing Director was simply "management Decision." But aviation industry watchers know that there has been a running battle between FAAN management and Arik Air over unresolved debt issues which culminated last Thursday in Arik flight operations being shut down by aviation unions that claimed they were trying to recover the N17 billion Arik was owing the three aviation agencies.
Though the debt issue was temporarily resolved last Saturday after the intervention of the Federal Government through the Secretary to the Government of the federation, Chief Pius Anyim, this latest action by Arik shows that the issues are far from being resolved.
Other people blacklisted include Omojuwa Japhet, Victor Ogbondah, Lawal Lateef, Obayomi Osoba, Obiriki James, Guanah Raymos, a Somalian, Warsame Amed Abdulkair, a Sudanese, Abdel Rahman, Wala Eldin and Orji Daniel Ikechukwu, Grace Nkiruka Guobadia, Adesanya David, Uzoh Hilman, Davis Fasan Adesola, Musa Azeez Arisekola and others.

ALBATROSS ON AFRICAN AVIATION

ALBATROSS ON AFRICAN AVIATION

Chief Executive, Landover Aviation Company, Capt. Edward Boyo.


African aviation is saddled with lots of challenges. Whenever its stakeholders gather to discuss the present and future of the continent’s air transport industry, they have never lacked well-articulated resolutions and recommendation, but the problem has always been with implementation. IME AKPAN writes on this in the light of the recent aviation conference held in Windhoek, Namibia

At different fora, the problems of African aviation are diagnosed to include

1. High customs duty paid on aircraft spare parts 

2. Double-digit interest rates on bank loans

3. Multiple and high airport charges paid by airlines and 

4. The ever-increasing cost of aviation fuel.
   Others are unfavourable operating environment,
- Dearth of airport infrastructure
- Foreign airlines’ domination of the continent’s airspace and
- The attendant capital flight, near-absence of private sector participation in aviation infrastructure development, inconsistent government policies, among others.
The participants, including governments, air transport industry experts, aircraft manufacturers, the African Airlines Association, (AFRAA), African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), International Air Transport Association (IATA), the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) re-evaluated the state of air transport development in Africa in the light of the current trends.

Boyo maintained that the aviation industry is one of the drivers of the continent’s economic growth regretted that despite 18 years of high level discussion among governments, African aviation experts and stakeholders, the problems bedeviling the continent’s aviation industry had persisted.

‘Let me state clearly that one of the cardinal thrusts of Aviation and Allied Business Leadership Conference series as a vital change catalyst is to continue to push for the actualization of harmonization of Africa’s air transport policies and regulations, cohesion among Africa’s air transport groupings, and integration of Africa’s air transport and economic regions. While pursuing these relentlessly, he said ‘it is also the primary objective of the conference series to promote sustainable air transport growth in Africa’.

Considering that Africa is the world’s last emerging aviation market, Boyo said no efforts should be spared to increase the impact of air transport on the populace as the continent strives to achieve beyond its current 3% share of global air transport.

The president of Namibia, Mr. Hifikepunye Pohamba, said African aviation is largely untapped, adding that aviation in all parts of the world plays a central role in the development of the economy.

 On his part, the secretary general of African Airlines Association (AFRAA), Dr. Elijah Chingosho, said foreign carriers were scrambling to control African airspace and aviation markets and called for the need for strict regulations to protect the domestic airlines.

 ‘We should deliberate on the implementation of strategies .We have the necessary strategies in place but are begging for implementation .We need the political will, courage and firmness to ensure that strategies are implemented to the fullest

Boeing 777. code named Triple 7.
1st of its kind. What do you all think. *wink*