FAAN Reverses No-fly Order to Kebbi Airport
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria says it has reversed plan to shut down operations at the Kebbi Airport following earlier reports of the state government being indebted to the authority.
General Manager, Corporate Affairs at FAAN, Mrs Henrietta Yakubu, said this in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Tuesday.
According to Yakubu, the Notice to Airmen issued by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency to bar airlines from flying into Kebbi Airport had been removed after the state government settled its outstanding debt alleged to be N33m to the agency.
She said, “The NOTAM that was issued has been lifted. The (Kebbi) state government settled their debt as of yesterday. Flights can now resume activities into the airport.”
This was not the first time the state’s airport has been placed under a flight embargo.
In 2019, the FAAN withdrew its aviation security and aerodrome rescue and fire-fighting personnel from the Kebbi airport after it said that the state was indebted to the agency to the tune of N124.5m.
Kenya Airways Partners SAA on Pan-African Airline
Kenya Airways and South African Airways have struck a preliminary co-operation deal with a longer-term view of launching a pan-African airline group.
According to FlightGlobal, the two African carriers signed the memorandum in Johannesburg on Tuesday, in a move which they hope will assist the operators’ post-Covid recovery but also longer-term co-operation plans.
SAA interim chief executive Thomas Kgokolo says the next step is to set up a joint working group to further discuss the memorandum and to put in place systems to achieve their stated objectives. The agreement is not exclusive, meaning both carriers can also pursue further co-operation deals.
Both SkyTeam carrier Kenya Airways and Star Alliance operator SAA have faced financial struggles in recent years, compounded by the Covid crisis. Kenya Airways is still awaiting finalization of plans to nationalize the carrier while SAA only resumed fights earlier this month after a year-long absence while it completed a major restructuring.
Kgokolo says the collaboration will assist both airlines in the current and post-pandemic business and travel environment. This, he says, involves joint recovery strategies and other “cost-containment” strategies that will aid the recovery of both carriers.
Kgokolo said, “As well as being a strong local carrier, part of our broader growth strategy is to become a major player in regional travel and this joint memorandum with Kenya Airways, one of the continent’s strongest and most respected carriers, will do just that.
“It will also enhance related Kenya and South Africa tourism circuits, sectors which account for significant portions of respective country growth domestic product, benefiting from at least two attractive hubs in Johannesburg, Nairobi and possibly Cape Town. Read more
FAA Deploying Technology to Reduce Airline Taxi Times
The FAA is poised to begin the rollout of a software system that will be used to reduce airline taxi times and delays while making the national airspace system more efficient.
The Advanced Technology Demonstration 2 (ATD-2) system is a predictive software solution that integrates ongoing flight arrivals at airports with airline departure plans and the real-time situation in the skies. It enables aircraft to depart the gate later and then move directly from the tarmac to the runway for takeoff without long wait times, thereby saving fuel.
In addition, the system’s predictive abilities reduce system delays by allowing for more efficient absorption of departing flights into the overhead aircraft stream, explained Shawn Engelland, ATD project manager for NASA.
Though ATD-2 will be deployed by the FAA, it was developed by NASA initially to facilitate spacecraft launches.
The FAA plans to roll out the system gradually at 27 large U.S. airports over the next 10 years. Successful trials have already been undertaken at Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth and Dallas Love Field airports. Next up will be Phoenix, with deployment in the early part of next year.
“This technology cuts delays by all kinds of hours and the aircraft engines run all kinds of fewer hours, NASA administrator Bill Nelson said during a teleconference on Sept. 28. “What does that mean? That means less maintenance and fewer engines. This is obviously good for the environment. It’s good for our economy. It’s good for customers.”
During testing in Charlotte, a reduction in taxi times saved about 275,000 gallons of fuel per year, which is the equivalent of the fuel burn of 185 flights between New York and Chicago for a Boeing 737. The system also reduced delays by 916 hours per year, which the FAA compared to shaving 15 minutes of waiting on a taxiway for more than 3,600 departing flights.
Greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by eight tons daily.
ATD-2 is part of the long-delayed NextGen air transportation system modernization that the FAA has been undertaking since 2007.
Arik Air Workers Warn ANAP, NUP Against Meddling in Their Affairs
Arik Air workers who are members of Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association, ATSSSAN, National Association of Nigeria Aircraft Pilots and Engineers, NAAPE, and the National Union of Air Transport Employees, NUATE, Tuesday warned the leadership of the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals, ANAP, and the National Union of Pensioners, NUP, to stay away from the affairs of Arik Air and the proposed NG Eagle airline.
Speaking on behalf of the workers in a rally, Arik Air branch Chairman/Secretary of NUATE, Ogulesi Afeez and Okoloj David and Branch Chairman/Secretary, NAAPE, Kelechi Alex Ifejika and Numoliya Bethen said none of the airline staff belong to ANAP and NUP and so the two unions have no stakes in their affairs.
The workers, therefore, wondered why ANAP and NUP will threaten to picket Arik Air and also urge Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, not to grant Air Operator Certificate, AOC, to the proposed NG Eagle airline because Arik Air is owning Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN.
According to the workers, what is important to Arik staff presently is ” the painful circumstances which caused our colleagues to proceed on leave without pay and how to achieve transition from employees of Arik Air to NG Eagle Airlines without loss of our service years.”
The workers therefore warned ANAP and NUP not to interfere in Arik’s Air and NG Eagle Airlines matter, adding that should they fail to heed the warning and proceed in any foolhardiness to attempt to cause any disorder in the airlines, “we assure them that they will have the workers of both Arik Air and NG Eagle Airlines to contend with . We are absolutely able to defend ourselves as the law grants us to do.” Read more
United Airlines Partners with Airlink To Connect Customers Between the US and Southern Africa
United Airlines and Airlink, a South African airline, announced a new codeshare agreement that will offer customers more connections between the U.S. and Southern Africa than any other airline alliance.
The new agreement, which is subject to government approval, will offer one stop connections from the U.S. to more than 40 destinations in Southern Africa. Additionally, United will be the first airline to connect its loyalty program with Airlink, allowing MileagePlus members to earn and redeem miles when they travel on Airlink flights. This new cooperation will be in addition to United’s existing partnership with Star Alliance member South African Airways.
“United continues to demonstrate our commitment to Africa, starting three brand new flights to the continent this year alone including new service to Accra, Ghana; Lagos, Nigeria and Johannesburg, South Africa,” said Patrick Quayle, vice president of international network and alliances at United. “And now through our codeshare agreement with Airlink – which is the most expansive partnership in Southern Africa – customers will be able to easily explore more bucket list destinations across the continent including easy connections to Zambia, Zimbabwe and more.”
United has continued to expand its footprint into Africa, with direct service to four African destinations. Earlier this month, United announced flights between Washington, D.C. and Lagos Nigeria will begin November 29, subject to government approval. Earlier this year, United launched new service between New York/Newark and Johannesburg, South Africa and between Washington, D.C. and Accra, Ghana, which is expected to operate daily this December and January. United’s popular service between New York/Newark and Cape Town, South Africa will also resume on December 1.
“North America is an important source market for our destinations. This codeshare will make it easy for our North American customers to reach the Okavango Delta, Chobe, the Kruger National Park and adjacent private game lodges, Cape Town, the Garden Route, Swakopmund and the Copperbelt, among others,” said Airlink CEO and Managing Director, Rodger Foster. “Similarly, the codeshare means that our customers in the 12 African countries we currently serve, will have fast and seamless access to all of United’s network.”
This new codeshare will be implemented upon final government approvals.
Air Zimbabwe to Join League of Afrca’s Viable Airlines
Air Zimbabwe will join the league of viable airlines in Africa over the next year as Government steps up efforts to have the airline firmly in the skies.
Responding to questions regarding its dormancy over the past few years at the ongoing Rwanda-Zimbabwe Trade and Investment Conference here yesterday, Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Tourism and Hospitality Mangaliso Ndlovu said in less than two years the airline would have reclaimed most of its routes.
“Air Zimbabwe is emerging from a very turbulent past but in the next 12 to 24 months we would have reopened quite a number of routes.
” It is not about management but it has been an issue of capitalization. It bore the brunt of sanctions which we have had to find ways around and in the not too distant future we will have penetrated Africa,” he said.
A business executive from Zimbabwe based in South Africa, Basildon Peta, had asked why the airline was not featuring in the Zimbabwe-Rwanda business discussions.
“It’s only about RwandAir, where is Air Zimbabwe in this,” he quipped.
Air Zimbabwe has resumed flights to Johannesburg and is also servicing the domestic market.
“This is the appropriate time for the audience here to look forward to Airzim flights into this country,” reassured Minister Ndlovu.
AirZimbabwe has been in the media for the wrong reasons for much of the past few years. However, it has emerged from judicial management and is set for expansion.
The government has poured in millions to resuscitate it.
Plans have also been put in place to gradually deal with its debt situation.
Recently, the airline acquired an Emb-145 R to boost its fleet as it moves towards resuming its role as the country’s major carrier.
The airline is expected to play a key role in boosting the tourism sector and the rest of the economy as trade and investment grow.
Sources: The Punch, Vanguard, Travel Weekly, The Herald, African Business Communities