Despite global low air passenger traffic occasioned by COVID-19 disruptions, Nigerians airlines are taking the bold step to purchase airplanes with anticipation that the industry will rebound soon. Azman Air, one of Nigeria’s domestic carriers, has announced the acquisition of a second Airbus A340 aircraft as part of its expansion drive in 2021…
 
More details through:
https://businessday.ng/exclusives/article/nigerian-airlines-buy-planes-in-anticipation-of-rebound-despite-low-passenger-traffic/
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The Federal Government’s plan to set up Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility, and Aircraft Leasing Company has received a boost with the emergence of bidders for the projects.
 
The Ministry of Aviation, following evaluation of proposals, approved the consortium of AJ Walters Leasing Limited (AJW Leasing) and Glovesly Pro-Project Limited, as the preferred bidder to establish the Aircraft Leasing Company for Nigeria. The trio of AJ Walters Aviation Limited, EgyptAir Maintenance & Engineering (EGME) and Glovesly Pro-Project Limited emerged the preferred bidder to establish the MRO.
 
The MRO and aircraft leasing company are among the four main components of the Aviation Roadmap initiative of the current administration, which also has the national carrier project and airport concession programme…
 
More details through:
https://guardian.ng/business-services/bidders-emerge-for-mro-aircraft-leasing-company/
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Nigeria’s air transport is set to experience a revolution as a proposed low-cost carrier – Green Africa Airways – is set to commence operations. It has already reached the final stage of certification.
 
Regulatory sources hinted that promoters of the carrier are putting finishing touches to secure the Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), a mandatory regulatory prerequisite before any scheduled carrier could take off.
 
Sources hinted that commencement of flight operations by Green Africa Airways promises to reshape the aviation industry with its state-of-the-art aircraft. Despite the ongoing pandemic, industry analysts agree that the long-term potential in the aviation market remains vibrant…
 
More details through:
https://thenationonlineng.net/new-nigerian-airline-to-begin-operations/

Airlines are planning to reduce fares in response to the removal of 7.5 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT). The suspension of VAT from air fares took effect from January 1, 2021, as part of incentives contained in the Finance Act 2020.
 
Airline operators told The Nation yesterday that they have received the directive on VAT removal from the government, but they are waiting for the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to implement the directive before the low fares regime comes into operation. Investigations have shown  that fares that were around N90, 000 for a one-way trip on some routes, could come down to as low as N27, 500…
 
More details through:
https://thenationonlineng.net/air-fares-to-drop-following-vat-removal/

The Murtala Mohammad Airport, Ikeja, domestic terminal, recorded a total of 551,380 passenger movements (landing and take-off) between July and December 2020.
 
Speaking in an interview with journalists, the Terminal Manager of the airport, Mr Adekunle Aderibigbe, said passenger numbers were impressive despite the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the statistics released, inbound passengers recorded 270,828 while departures stood at 280,552 passengers. He said that 3,068 aircraft landed at the airport between July and December 2020 while 3,193 aircraft took off from the same airport during the period under review…
 
More details through:
https://punchng.com/mma-records-551380-passengers-in-five-months/

The aviation industry may witness a first of its kind as Dana and Ibom Air may collaborate to interline their operations in the New Year according to a top official of the one of the airlines who spoke to New Telegraph exclusively at the weekend. He said domestic airline interline would help to solve some of the problems faced by airlines and passengers. Usually, if two airlines have an interline agreement in place, they will handle the check in and baggage for each other’s passengers.
 
That means travelers only have to check in once for all the flights on the itinerary, and that their baggage will be transferred by the first airline to the second airline, without them having to manually collect it and drop it off again. When two airlines enter into an interline agreement, it’s the most basic form of partnership you will find…
 
More details through:
https://www.newtelegraphng.com/dana-ibom-may-seal-nigerias-first-interline/
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Nigerian carrier, Air Peace airlines, yesterday reestablished air connectivity between Nigeria and South Africa, operating its maiden direct commercial flight on the Lagos-Johannesburg route. 
 
The services, already dubbed as a strategic entry into the route erstwhile dominated by Arik Air and defunct South African Airways (SAA), will boost trade ties between Nigeria and South Africa, and connect west and southern regions in about six-hour travel time.
 
As an achievement for the airline in its sixth year of operations, the inaugural flight on Boeing 777 aircraft was dispatched with a toast at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos. It was the second international route of Air Peace after Lagos-Dubai services opened last year…
 
More details through:
https://guardian.ng/business-services/local-airline-reopens-lagos-joburg-route-deepens-bilateral-ties/
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Nigeria’s air connectivity has grown by 26 per cent in the last 10 years, the International Air Transportation has said. IATA in its report titled ‘Air connectivity’ placed the country seventh in the African air connectivity ranking.
 
Considering the size of its population and economy, the report argued that Nigeria was a significantly underserved country in terms of air connectivity.
 
It read, “In Africa, during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, air connectivity levels in many countries have been reduced by more than 90 per cent relative to the previous year. Ethiopia is the exception to this trend…
 
More details through:
https://punchng.com/nigerias-air-connectivity-grew-26-in-10-years-iata/

Qatar Airways has commenced flight services to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja in a three weekly frequency from Doha. This becomes the carrier’s sixth new destination by the national carrier of the State of Qatar since the start of the pandemic. The Abuja service will be operated by the airline’s state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliner featuring 22 seats in Business Class and 232 seats in Economy Class.
 
Qatar Airways Vice-President, Africa, Mr. Hendrik Du Preez, said: “We are excited to land in the capital of Nigeria today, our second destination in Nigeria. I am proud to say Abuja is the sixth new destination we have launched since the start of the pandemic. With the strong Nigerian diaspora in Europe, U.S. and the UK, we are thrilled to now be flying three times weekly to Abuja via Lagos. We look forward to working closely with our partners in Nigeria to steadily grow this route and support the recovery of tourism and trade in the region…
 
More details through:
https://www.newtelegraphng.com/qatar-begins-flights-to-abuja-invest-in-fuel-efficient-planes/
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Air Peace has scheduled December for the commencement of an inaugural flight into Jamaica. It also explained that regional flights would commence into Accra, Banjul, Freetown, Dakar, Monrovia, Dubai, Johannesburg the same month.
 
This disclosure was made by the Chief Operating Officer of the airline, Mrs Toyin Olajide, who lamented the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its operations. She said, “COVID-19 affected airlines everywhere in different ways. In our case, we had several aircraft out on C-check maintenance abroad before the pandemic…
 
More details through:
https://punchng.com/air-peace-resumes-dubai-flights-begins-operations-to-joburg-jamaica/