Travel News

By Wole Oyebade

• Logistics challenges, weak Naira push Jet A-1 to N215 in South, over N300/per litre up North
• Apapa ports’ congestion costs importers extra $10,000 to $25,000 daily
• It’s a shame no refinery produces Jet A-1 locally, says Joji

Despite an upswing in the global price of crude oil and attendant blessings for oil-producing countries, the price of aviation fuel has spiked nationwide and much to the pains of airlines and travellers in Nigeria.

A fact-check by The Guardian showed that aviation fuel, also called Jet A-1, has lately sold for between N215 at airports in the South and N300/per litre in low traffic aerodromes in the Northern region of the country. The price had risen in April 2021 to between N250 and N275 per litre, which was about a 200 per cent increase from 2016, when it was sold at N110. It rose to N200 in 2018, hovering around N160 and N170 in 2019.   An average 50 per cent surge in fuel cost, a critical component of airlines’ operation, has also forced airlines to increase airfares with an average Economy Class ticket on less than an hour flight selling for over N65,000.     There are fears of fuel contamination in some quarters, which experts say, could threaten flight safety. Engr. Femi Adeniji of Tropical Arctic Logistics, a helicopter operator, said any jet fuel cheaper than N270 could have been contaminated.

Chairman and CEO of United Nigeria Airlines, Dr. Obiora Okonkwo, decried the development, which he said, has added to the cost of operation.

Okonkwo, whose airline debuted about four months ago, said: “We started operations at N160 per litre barely four months ago and when you move from that price to over N270 within two months, you should expect whatever we are experiencing now. Aviation fuel alone takes between 30 to 40 per cent of airlines’ costs. This is cause for grave concern to everyone.”   The Guardian learnt that the extra burden on end-user airlines and travellers alike is not unconnected with the naira-to-dollar exchange rate, logistics hiccups of importing the product through chaotic Apapa ports, and more expensive distribution to nationwide airports by road.  

Aside from the multiple taxes and charges on the product, the monopoly of marketers at less viable airports has also raised the price by some notches – making the product one of the most expensive in the West African region.
  
Indeed, aviation fuel is the oxygen of the airline business. Though an oil-producing nation and the sixth largest producer in the world, Nigeria’s perennial inability to refine the product locally has made jet fuel susceptible to dictates of the exchange rate, and therefore expensive, accounting for between 30 to 40 per cent of airlines’ operating cost.
  
Of dire consequence is the recent appreciation of crude oil price to $73.5 per barrel in the world market, and Naira’s free-fall to N500/$1 at home. At these rates, the landing cost of all imported products, including aviation fuel, could only reach for the rooftop.  

But the dynamics of aviation fuel is more complicated. As a deregulated arm of the dollar-dependent aviation industry, jet fuel price is directly proportional to the price of crude oil. However, during the plunge of crude oil price late last year, aviation fuel prices did not fall accordingly.

  
Chief Operating Officer of CITA Petroleum, a major marketer in local aviation, Olasimbo Betiku, said Nigeria is a “situational economy” where pricing is heavily hinged on logistics cost elements.
  
Betiku said besides the dollar and liquidity constraints, transporting the product through poor infrastructure readily keeps the price comparatively high.  

He explained that the product, like others, comes into the country through the Lagos ports, while intractable congestion at Apapa causes a delay in cargo clearance of between four and seven days or more.      Stakeholders were unanimous that for each idle day, an importer pays between $10,000 to $25,000 extra charter cost per vessel. At more efficient ports, like Cotonou in Benin Republic where clearance takes between three to four hours, such add-on costs do not apply.   The risk of conveying the product in trucks remains a challenge in the sector. Since the early 90s, moving aviation fuel from the Mosimi pipeline to Lagos airport has been abandoned for more expensive road transport. While the cost of transportation within Lagos is about N3 per litre, it is about N15 per litre travelling up North as far as Maiduguri.

Similarly, the Federal Government statutorily earns N2:50 fuel surcharge tax per litre. In addition are operators’ permits, ground rent for tank farms, and access permits for equipment into airports.
  
Betiku said all of the cost elements, the majority of which are avoidable in a functional system, are passed on to consumers as the product price.  
  
“Apapa delay is one of the infrastructural problems, with heavy cost implications. I remember in February 2015 at the first African supply chain optimisation conference in South Africa, it was the time crude price was going down. Because the pricing of the product (Jet-A1) is directly proportional to crude price, people (on the continent) thought because Nigeria is a crude-dependent country, there will be an advantage for them to come to Nigeria to do the ad-hoc lifting.    

“But I had to explain to them that ours is a situational economy because of the challenges of infrastructure that are not in other countries. Our own peculiar situation is making the product to be higher than what it should be around the coast of West Africa,” he said.
  
Notwithstanding the comparative disadvantage, the dynamics of the aircraft operations and required fuel load-factor, either at landing or take-off, readily compels operating aeroplanes to patronise local suppliers.  
  
Betiku noted that marketers would not cluster in most of the airports, as they do in major airports especially in the South, given the huge capital outlay involved and viability of the facilities.
  
“The frequency of flight to a particular airport is the primary factor. Another is the cost of capital outlay to have a supply system in any airport. The product is available down South and you can move it at lower cost. That means people can easily site the asset down South than in the North.

“The solution is to have an economy that is growing across all layers. To grow the economy, we also need to develop the infrastructure along with the growing population. What of the support services from public and private sectors to oil the economy at large? We need to have a holistic view of the economy,” Betiku said.
  
Chief Executive Officer of Skypower Express Airways, Capt. Mohammed Joji, said it was unfortunate that the sector still imports aviation fuel 100 per cent. Joji said aviation fuel is just refined kerosene and should not continue to elude local production.   
 
“It is sad and unbelievable that a country with three refineries cannot refine Jet A1 for local use. Someone must be sabotaging the system; otherwise, we have no business importing fuel. The refineries are strategically located. Kaduna refinery takes care of the north, while Warri takes care of the south.  

“As it is, you cannot travel from Maiduguri to Lagos by road anymore. So, you need to fly and you need fuel. We only need to refine the product locally and make it cheap, and about 40 per cent of the cost will be reduced,” Joji said.
  
Secretary-General of the Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ASRTI), Group Capt. John Ojikutu (rtd), said concerns over the state of fuel infrastructure borders more on safety than the cost of the product.
 
Ojikutu noted that local operators and European Union Civil Aviation Authority (EUCAA), on behalf of European carriers flying to Nigeria, had reported contamination in fuel that they bought in Nigeria.
  
The former Commandant of the Lagos Airport was particularly worried about how the authorities could exercise safety oversight and quality assurance on over 200 trucks that transport Jet A-1 between depots and airports.

He called on the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to deepen its oversight on aviation fuel suppliers to ensure that the quality of fuel is not compromised. The aviation analyst also noted that the price could be controlled if the damaged pipelines supplying fuel to the airport were repaired.

“When these are done, you remove the cost of bridging the supply and contamination through trucking with tanks; you remove demurrage on the tanks for the period of waiting before discharge. All these are in addition to the cost of fuel and airlines operational costs,” he said.    He observed that trucks came into the fuel supply chain when pipelines that supplied fuel to the airport ruptured in 1992. Since then, there has been no appreciable effort from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), to repair them.

MEANWHILE, there had been repairing proposals to the NNPC to partner with marketers under the Joint Unified Hydrant Installation (JUHI) to repair the pipelines. Also, there was a proposal for JUHI and airlines to jointly repair the pipelines. Or that the repair, operation of the pipelines and hydrants be given a concession to a private company for a period of 20 to 30 years. None of these is heeded to date.  

“Except the repairs are done or the NNPC/DPR and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) enforce quality assurance on JUHI, the contamination through truck tankers transportation that have caused not less than eight serious incidents could begin resulting into serious accidents in future or even now,” Ojikutu said.
 
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), a clearinghouse for over 280 airlines worldwide, in 2018, ranked Nigeria and other African countries as some of the most expensive places to do aviation business in the world.
  
The then Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of IATA, Alexandre de Juniac, at the 50th Annual General Assembly meeting of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA), held in Rabat, Morocco, said Nigeria and others need to ease the aviation business environment, by paying more attention to infrastructure for massive growth. 
  
“There is no shortage of examples illustrating the heavy burden that governments extract from aviation. Jet fuel costs are 35 per cent higher than the rest of the world. User charges, as a percentage of airlines’ operating costs, are double the industry average. And taxes and charges are among the highest in the world. On top of that, $670 million of airline funds are blocked. Too many African governments view aviation as a luxury rather than a necessity. We must change that perception,” de Juniac said.

By Chinedu Eze

The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has barred not less than 20 Nigerians from travelling overseas because of poor and unconvincing documentation about their destination.

The travellers were stopped from travelling last week at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.

Meanwhile, the NIS command at the MMIA command received another mentally challenged female Nigerian, Ms. Motunde Oluwatobi Victoria, 29, from Saudi Arabia.

A source close to the command disclosed to THISDAY on Wednesday that most of those stopped from travelling out failed to give tangible reasons for wanting to travel out of the country and could not give details of their travels.

The source said that most of those stopped could not provide documents to support their claims while it was observed that some of them used travel agents to perfect their papers to travel out of the country by all means.

The source said that thorough interrogations by immigration personnel stopped these travellers from soiling the image of the country abroad, adding that most of such travellers end up returning to Nigeria with complicated medical and health issues.

The source advised those willing to travel out of the country by all means to get proper education on job availabilities in any country they intend to go and should have deep knowledge about such environment, remarking that most of them are not knowledgeable about their travel plans.

However, the command reunited a mentally-challenged female Nigerian, Motunde, with her family members at the airport yesterday.

It was gathered that Motunde who had been in Saudi Arabia since 2018 and engaged as a house maid in Saudi Arabia, returned aboard Egypt Air at 1:30pm on Tuesday with incoherent speech, which prompted the command to search for her family members through the social media and were able to locate her immediate elder sister, Ms. Titilope Deborah Babatunde.

Also, Motunde's sister, Titilope, commended officials of the NIS at the airport for reuniting her with her sister.

"I am very grateful to the Immigration Service, MMIA Command for reuniting me with my sister. Initially when I received the call, I concluded that it was a scammer at work. What immigration has done has further reinvigorated my belief about Nigeria. It shows that to some extent, we are still secure in Nigeria. If not for the immigration, I will not know that my sister has been brought back to Nigeria. We will still think she was in Saudi Arabia," she said.

By Wole Oyebade

Poor customer service in local aviation and dilapidated equipment across the airports yesterday, drew the attention of aviation stakeholders.

The practitioners, at the Airport Business Summit and Expo Africa in Lagos, said not only are the dwindling infrastructure reducing Nigerian aviation’s competitiveness, but the operations are also as well getting unsafe for travellers.

Similarly, Lagos airport has deepened in viability, generating 58 per cent of total revenue in aviation for 2020. Prior to the pandemic disruption, the busiest airport raked in about 40 per cent of total earnings.

Indeed, customer experience has declined in local operations with almost two in every three flights either delayed or cancelled.

Executive Commissioner, Corporate Services at the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), Adamu Abdullahi, said both the poor infrastructure and services are regrettable.

Abdullahi, however, said protection of consumers’ rights is paramount to competitiveness in the aviation sector.

He said consumers have rights to choose, to be heard, to redress, to a conducive environment, to value for money paid for service, and quality information.

Lamenting the infrastructure decay, Adamu said: “Our airports cannot compete favourably with world established airports; and the dream of turning Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, into a regional hub is far from being realised.

“Most of the nation’s terminal buildings require modern functional ones with state-of-the-art technology. Our apron spaces are congested and grossly inadequate, thus not being able to minimise timing in the area of facilitation.

“Runways are undulating and deteriorating and have outlived their design life. On the whole, critical safety support services are all stretched to their limits.”

Adamu added that associated services at the airport, such as Airport Rescue and fire fighting services, water and power supply are all outdated.

Director, Commercial and Business Development of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Sadiku Rafindadi, said they are committed to strategies to increase the status of the facilities and increase revenue base, through aeronautical and non-aeronautical sources.

Rafindadi noted that the new international terminals in Lagos, among others, would increase yearly passenger traffic to 15 million travellers nationwide.

He said among the 22 airports in the country, Lagos airport led the pack in 2020 revenue earning by 58 per cent. Abuja airport had 21 per cent; Port Harcourt and Kano had four per cent apiece, and the rest managed 13 per cent.

Rafindadi said: “Nigerian airports have enormous potential for high gross earnings if we will harness it. Each airport has its peculiarity in terms of tourism, agriculture, mining and aerotropolis to better improve their viability.”

He said further that FAAN was looking at increasing the share of non-aeronautical activities from below 30 per cent to 40 per cent, “by focusing on investments in airport infrastructures and technology solutions to drive cost optimisation, creating enabling environments and improving non-aeronautical revenue streams”.

The Director General, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Musa Nuhu, said there was a need for strong regulatory framework for the deployment of drones to ensure safety and security.

Nuhu said this in his presentation themed, 'Drone Essence, Growth and Regulations in Nigeria' at the Airport Business Summit on Cargo&Aero Logistics and Drone Technology Expo, in Lagos on Wednesday.

He said the huge demand for drones and the pace of development of the market was incredibly fast, hence the need for regulation.

He said drones were originally developed for the military and airspace industries, but were now being used for monitoring climate change, goods delivery, search and rescue operations, filming agricultural surveillance and so on.

Nuhu said the NCAA and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) would synergise with the government and stakeholders to mitigate risks to national security and public safety, posed by people who were wrongly deploying drones.

"Drones can be referred to as the following; Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs).

"Drones have a long and established history that dates back to centuries, but presently there is a paradigm shift.

"Their original use was as a weapon in the form of remotely-guided aerial missile deployers. However, today, drones have found a wide range of applications for civilian use. Its essence can be described with one word 'Versatility.'

"Currently, there is a huge demand for drones. The pace of development of the drone market, both recreational and commercial is incredibly fast," Nuhu said.

According to the NCAA helmsman, there is need for regulation of this versatile technology and regulations will create a level playing field for RPAS/UAV operators.

"Safety is key to the Nigerian Airspace System. Our goal for unmanned aircraft remains complete and total integration of safety and security is a shared responsibility for stakeholders and UAV operators.

"We must ensure that the Nigerian Airspace remains safe and that the benefits of UAV operations are well understood and implemented.

"I have no doubt that the current legal framework and collaboration with operators, stakeholders and Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) will provide a robust structure and system for the regulation of drone operation and its structured growth in Nigeria," Nuhu said.

(NAN)

Ministers will meet today to agree changes to the UK’s travel “green list” after the sector united yesterday to plead for a fuller reopening of international travel.

It comes as German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on EU countries to force all UK travellers to quarantine on arrival amid fears over the Delta Covid-19 variant.

Merkel’s comments risk slamming the door on summer holidays for sun-seeking Brits, who had recently been offered a chink of light after it was revealed that the government was considering easing the isolation rules for fully vaccinated people.

Under the new scheme, health secretary Matt Hancock told the BBC, those who had received two doses of a vaccine would not need to quarantine on return from “amber list” countries.

The Telegraph reported that ministers will sign off on the policy today ahead of its “checkpoint review” of the travel traffic light system on Monday.

But any such scheme is unlikely to come into effect until August, despite calls by the sector for the change to coincide with the UK’s new “freedom day”, 19 July.

Although wide-ranging changes to the “green list” are not expected, a number of holiday islands have reportedly been approved by the government’s health advisers.

The Balearic islands, Madeira, and Malta have all been cleared to be added to the “green list”, the Times reported, while Israel could be added to the “amber list” due to a surge in cases.

But even if ministers do make steps to open up travel, holidaymakers could yet find themselves thwarted, if the EU heeds Merkel’s words.

“In our country, if you come from Great Britain you have to go into quarantine and that’s not the case in every European country, and that’s what I would like to see,” she told the Bundestag.

Brits arriving in Germany have to quarantine for 14 days, while Italy and Poland have also introduced mandatory isolation. At the moment, Spain and Greece have resisted such steps.

BY  Juliana Ajayi and Kariola Mustapha

Emirates Airlines has confirmed that it will begin accepting Dubai-bound passengers from India, South Africa and Nigeria to Dubai.

This, according to a statement released to our correspondent, was facilitated by the revision of rules issued by the Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management in Dubai which allowed fully vaccinated travellers to return to their homes in the UAE.

The airline said, “Effective from Wednesday, June 23, it will resume carrying passengers from India, South Africa, and Nigeria.”

It added, “Emirates welcomes the latest protocols and measures announced by Dubai’s Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management to allow the safe resumption of passenger travel from South Africa, Nigeria and India to Dubai and onwards.

“We look forward to facilitating travel from these countries and supporting various travellers’ categories.”

The statement added, “We will resume carrying passengers from South Africa, Nigeria and India in accordance with these protocols from June 23.

“We thank the supreme committee for their continuous efforts in monitoring the development of the situation and announcing the appropriate guidelines and protocols to protect the community and safeguard the travel sector.”

Recall that UAE had suspended inbound passenger entry from India on April 24 amid a severe second wave of COVID-19 infections, and travel from South Africa was suspended mid-January this year.

The rules for passengers travelling from India said entry would be permitted to residents who had received two doses of UAE-approved vaccines.

All travellers are required to present a negative Covid-19 test result taken within 48 hours before departure. UAE citizens are exempted; only QR coded PCR test result certificates are required from them.

All passengers must take a rapid PCR test four hours before flight departure; all passengers must also undergo a PCR test on arrival at Dubai Airport, the airline added.

•NAMA acquires automated mobile control towers

The Federal Government, yesterday, said the quartet of Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano airports will be concessioned by August.

The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, said in Lagos that the last phase of the concession preparations would be done between this month and July.

In a related development, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has acquired two new automated mobile control towers, to serve as backups in both Lagos and Abuja airports.

The Federal Government has been itching to concession all the 22 federal airports since 2016, beginning with the big four in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano, to enable them to function efficiently and profitably. Despite the government’s assurance that the workers would still be relevant in the new arrangement, the unions have been against concession.

The main concern of the workers, under the aegis of the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and the National Union of Pensioners (NUP), is what would be their fate when the airports fall into private hands.

Similarly, they faulted the rationale behind concessioning viable airports that are beneficiaries of the 2013 loan deal between Nigeria and China. The unions have requested for details of the $500 million credit for the four terminals, especially the additional plans to concession them.

Sirika, at the Airport Business Summit and Expo, yesterday, assured that there would be no job loss during concession, but an opportunity to engage more hands into the system.

He said there was no need to sell the people’s asset but to concession them in a way that it would be operated with a view to providing more revenue.

He said the proposal would be presented to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in February 2022 for approval.

He added that all the agreements on concession were contained in the outlined proposal, saying they were in the interest of the people.

Sirika explained that the proposal, which commenced in 2015, will be advertised this month for bidders to show interest after which qualified companies will be invited for profiling, adding that everything convening the process will close in August

He added that evaluated companies would be asked to present a proposal for engagement, even as he assured labour of dialogue to ensure that every issue concerning concession was addressed, adding that no single worker will be laid off.

He assured that all ongoing concessions would be allowed to finish their tenure before review.

On tackling the present traffic in-between the domestic and international airport, Sirika said the arrangement was on between the Lagos state government and ministry to construct light rail from the Ikeja terminal through the local airports to the international airport.

By Helen Oji

The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) halted three consecutive days of losses to close in an upbeat yesterday, as investors’ wealth increased by N78 billion.

At the close of trading yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 149.89 absolute points, representing a growth of 0.40 per cent to close at 37,954.35 points.

Similarly, the market capitalisation value gained N78 billion to close at N19.781 trillion.

The upturn was driven by price appreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks amongst which are; BUA Cement, Nigerian Breweries, Guaranty Trust Bank Holdings Company, Eterna and Zenith Bank.

Capital market analysts said that the bullish sentiment was due to investors’ bargain hunting in virtually all the sectors, except the Insurance sector.

Analysts at Vetiva Dealings and Brokerage said: “While the market was in a positive swing today, activity levels remained subdued. Thus, we expect the market to end the week on a mixed note, as investors continue to buy up beaten-down names and take profit on some counters.”

On the price movement chart, 20 stocks appreciated in price, while 14 others constituted the losers’ chart.

Mutual Benefits Assurance and Portland Paints & Products Nigeria emerged as the highest price gainer with 10 per cent each to close at 44 kobo and N2.64 kobo, while Learn Africa followed with a gain of 3.96 per cent to close at N1.05.

Eterna rose by 3.92 per cent to close at N7.95 kobo. Oando appreciated by 3.45 per cent to close at N3.00 kobo.

On the other hand, Juli Pharmacy led the losers’ chart by 9.56 per cent to close at N1.23 kobo, while AIICO Insurance followed with a decline of 7.41 per cent to close at N1.00 kobo.

Chams depreciated by 4.76 per cent to close at 20 kobo. Champion Breweries shed 2.44 per cent to close at N2.00 kobo. Honeywell Flour Mill depreciated by 2.08 per cent to close at N1.41 kobo.

However, the total volume of trades declined by 19.65 per cent to 167.407 million units, valued at N1.830 billion, and exchanged in 3,256 deals.

Transactions in the shares of Zenith Bank topped the activity chart with 13.895 million shares valued at N330.124 million. Sovereign Trust Insurance followed with 12.745 million shares worth N3.431 million, while United Bank for Africa (UBA) traded 11.755 million shares valued at N84.650 million.

Mutual Benefits Assurance traded 10.955 million shares valued at N4.763 million, while FBN Holdings (FBNH) transacted 8.846 million shares worth N63.359 million.

(Bloomberg) -- The U.K. added Spain’s Balearic islands and Malta onto its quarantine-free “green” travel list, and said rules will be relaxed later for more destinations for people who are fully vaccinated against coronavirus.

Airline shares gained on Friday after the announcement, which will boost the country’s ailing travel industry ahead of the school holidays that begin next month. Bermuda, Madeira, and a number of Caribbean destinations were also added to the list.

Opening up the island destinations to U.K. tourists will offer some measure of relief to a U.K. aviation industry that’s been whipsawed by changing travel rules -- most recently when Portugal was abruptly pulled off the green list.

However, the prospects for Britons hoping to take trips in Europe are still uncertain. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has suggested the whole European Union should coordinate its rules closely and be more cautious about allowing entry to travelers from countries outside the bloc with high rates of the delta variant of the virus -- which would include the U.K.

Delta Cloud

Germany, Italy and Poland have already imposed quarantine rules on people arriving from the U.K. due to the rise in British cases of the fast-spreading mutation. France and Portugal have said they may tighten restrictions.

Under the U.K.’s traffic-light system, destinations are coded red for those with the highest Covid-19 danger, amber for moderate risk and green for low risk. Travelers returning from green-listed countries do not need to quarantine, but those on the amber and red lists must isolate for 10 days after arrival.

There was also a measure of caution in the U.K.’s latest easing of restrictions: All the new additions, bar Malta, were also put on the green watch list -- meaning they could be placed on the medium-risk amber list at short notice.

Double Vaccination

The government said it plans to ease rules further “later in the summer” to allow people who are double-vaccinated to return from amber countries without needing to self-isolate. Details will be set out next month, including the rules for children and when the changes will come into effect, it said.

“We’re moving forward with efforts to safely reopen international travel this summer, and thanks to the success of our vaccination program, we’re now able to consider removing the quarantine period for fully vaccinated U.K. arrivals from amber countries, showing a real sign of progress,” Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said in a statement late Thursday.

Shares Gain

Executives at carriers including EasyJet Plc, Ryanair Holdings Plc and British Airways rely on the U.K., the biggest supplier of tourists in Europe alongside Germany, for big chunks of their business. They’ve grown increasingly frustrated with their hands tied as nearby countries in the European Union steadily relax their borders.

While the industry welcomed Thursday’s move, they said it doesn’t go far enough. Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Shai Weiss said in a statement the U.S. should have been added to the green list. EasyJet CEO Johan Lundgren said the government’s timetable for resuming international travel “simply isn’t ambitious enough.”

EasyJet put 50,000 extra seats on sale to newly green-listed destinations. Shares of the U.K. low-cost carrier jumped as much as 2.6% in London, while Irish rival Ryanair, tour operator TUI AG and British Airways parent IAG SA also gained.

‘Lost Summer’

“There are some airlines that have already lost another summer,” Willie Walsh, the head of the International Air Transport Association trade group, said in an interview before the announcement. He cited Aer Lingus, the Irish carrier he once ran and oversaw as chief executive officer of IAG. It’s dependent on transatlantic travel and is in a situation that’s “much more difficult than others.”

Airport Operators Association CEO Karen Dee said the announcement is “not yet the vaccine dividend people in the U.K. had hoped for.”

Earlier Thursday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he had not ruled out taking a foreign holiday himself this year but cautioned travel overseas would continue to be disrupted by the pandemic.

“The real opportunity we all have now is to open up travel through the double jab,” Johnson said in pooled broadcast interview. More than 60% of U.K. adults have now received their second vaccine dose.

(Updates with share reaction from second paragraph)

Nigerian airlines are beginning to choose aircraft types that are appropriate to their routes in addition to acquiring new equipment. Industry experts say this would make their operations more profitable, writes Chinedu Eze

Some years ago industry analysts used to excoriate Nigerian airlines at every aviation fora because of their poor choice of aircraft for the routes they operate. Many of the industry experts said for airlines that operate short haul flights of largely less than two hours, it is most inappropriate to operate long haul airplanes.

New entrants into commercial aviation seemed to have taken a cue from the criticisms and have started acquiring smaller body aircraft suitable and economical for short haul flights. Over 10 years ago Arik Air came in with Boeing 737-700 and 800, but while operating it, it realised that there was need to have smaller body equipment and it acquired Bombardier CRJ 900 and later turboprops, Bombardier Q400.

Air Peace, which joined the market in 2014, acquired Boeing aircraft and shortly after acquired smaller body aircraft, ERJ 145, a 50 passenger capacity aircraft. United Nigeria Airlines, which started operation in February, 2021came in with ERJ 145 and Green Africa, which is under the process of obtaining Air Operator Certificate (AOC) finally chose ATR turboprop aircraft.

The Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Captain Fola Akinkuotu, told THISDAY in a telephone interview that choosing the right aircraft has so many benefits, saying Nigerian airlines in recent time seems to have realised that because they are now choosing small body aircraft which is right for the short haul flights.

He said such aircraft types would help airlines breakeven with less number of passengers. For example, Embraer ERJ 145 is a 50 passenger capacity aircraft. With 35 passengers the airline can break-even a flight, but with a bigger aircraft like Boeing 737-800, which has the capacity of about 145 passengers, the airline needs about 90 passengers to break even.

Akinkuotu said bigger aircraft would make it difficult for an airline to breakeven with in a route where passengers cannot fill more than half of the aircraft. He noted that such airplanes are good but their choice should be dependent on the market.

“For example, if I have an airline that is not yet known, I can use smaller airplane to operate Lagos-Abuja route with a capacity of about 50 passengers; but as I get popular I will use bigger aircraft. With smaller aircraft you can ginger the market,” he said.

Wear and Tear The NAMA Boss said the choice of aircraft is determined by design and market. For a long flight a bigger aircraft is needed, but aircraft utilisation is dependent on cycle and hours of flight. He said that if an airline uses Boeing 737-800 for example, to fly Abuja-Lagos and use the same aircraft to fly Lagos-Dakar, the Abuja-Lagos aircraft would record higher cycle because it would land six times in the same hours of flight, the one on Lagos-Dakar would spend before it lands.

In other words, if you operate Boeing 737-800 between Lagos-Abuja it will operate about 55 minutes in each flight so under one hour it would land two times and in the three hours it would take the one going to Dakar to get to its destination, the one on the Lagos-Abuja route would have landed six times, which is six cycles; while the other would have landed two times, which is two cycles. He said the more the cycle, the higher the maintenance. But if appropriate aircraft is used it would be cost effective. Boeing 737-800 would be appropriately used from four to six hours’ flight. So there should be a balance.

Akinkuotu noted that there should be other factors to consider in choosing the aircraft type. “You have to also look at the public perception. In Nigeria, travellers like aircraft that takes them above the clouds. Smaller aircraft are not as tolerant to weather as the big ones, but they may be good to the economy of the airlines,” he said.

Beckoning Airports The Managing Director of Flight Logistics Solutions, Amos Akpan, said in the past most of the aircraft types used by Nigerian carriers were those that have capacity for 120-140 seats, noting that the cost of operating these aircraft types is high in terms of fuel, manpower, spare parts and these aircraft types include Boeing 737, 727, MD11 and DC9.

“These aircraft are expensive for domestic operation in Nigeria. The number of passengers required to break even is high. The volume of fuel used for one hour’s flight is high. Now, people have to reassess their business model and decide to choose aircraft that burn less fuel and the break-even load factor is lower.

“So where there used to be 80-90 passengers to break even, they would need 35-40 passengers to break-even because of the aircraft type and passenger traffic,” Akpan explained. He also noted that smaller body aircraft could easily fly into airports that have smaller runway and the airports where passengers that are ready to travel by air at anytime could be average of 35-40.

“Such airports where you can have relatively smaller number of passengers are Ilorin, Katsina, Akure, Ibadan, Minna, Osubi, Calabar, the new airport in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state capital, Kebbi, Bauchi and Gombe. There are some cities where you cannot have a high number of passengers at any point in time, so you deploy smaller body aircraft there. So there are lower number of passengers that can pay for air service there.

“By the time you land there with that number of passengers, you break even. There are a whole lot of airports that are waiting to be served with smaller body aircraft. These airports are waiting to be exploited. They have a number of passengers with average of about 30 passengers per flight. So they need smaller aircraft, what we call feeder service plane,” Akpan said.

Size Critical as Brand New

Last week when Air Peace received third of 13 aircraft it made firm order for from Embraer, the Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Musa Nuhu, in eulogizing the airline noted that an airline buying the right size of aircraft for its operations is very critical to the success of that airline.

“Today is another milestone and it is a paradigm shift in the aviation industry in Nigeria. Not since the days of Nigeria Airways when I was quite a young man when I started my career have I seen any Nigerian airline purchase brand new aircraft. It is not only ordering a brand new aircraft but the right size aircraft for the Nigerian market.

“That right size is as critical as being brand new because it further enhances the airline economics, you break even with much lower passengers, the operating cost are lower, your maintenance cost are lower, it is much easier.

“You can fly routes and still come out profitable, even when you don’t have too many passengers. In addition to that, another factor we don’t realise, this new aircraft are environment friendly, less noise, less pollution. I am really proud to be the DG of NCAA when this change is coming,” Nuhu said.

The Director General also said with the initiative of Air Peace he hoped that other airlines would follow the same way and buy brand new aircraft types that suit the Nigerian market. “I see a paradigm for other airlines, like the chairman of Air Peace prayed, I also pray that other airlines also will buy brand new aircraft and the right size. So that the air transportation industry can grow much better than it is currently.

“If it grows much better, there will be more jobs; more income and the contribution of the industry to the GDP will grow. Once our contribution to the GDP grows bigger, the government recognises the industry more, with more attention. We are getting good attention now, but the attention will grow and we will become a more relevant sector by increasing our GDP in the industry. We are here to work together and grow the industry,” the Director General said.

He described the relationship between airlines and NCAA as partnership, noting that the agency would always support Nigerian carriers in exploiting domestic, regional and international markets. “We are friends and partners in progress in the industry. If you have issues, we will sit down and discuss and resolve it. Yes, Senator Hadi Sirika, the Minister of Aviation spurred airlines to make such bold move to acquire new aircraft. Most importantly, we need entrepreneurs like Onyema that believes in the country to come and invest, tie all loose ends together and grow the sector.

“I look forward to the day that majority of the Air Peace planes are brand new E195-E2s. Not only will it grow your market domestically, it will grow your market at the regional level. In West and Central Africa, we have 600 million people; you can imagine with the right size aircraft, you can easily airlift 150 million passengers. And I promised we would continue to work together, if you need all the assistance we will cooperate to ensure the industry survives,” Captain Nuhu said.

Cost Cutting Also during the ceremony, the Chairman and CEO of the airline, Allen Onyema, explained that he was encouraged by the Minister’s compelling speech, which urged Nigerian airlines to acquire new aircraft. But at the point the speech was made, many of the domestic carriers were not positively disposed to the speech but with a hind sight, that speech inspired the decision of Air Peace to go for new aircraft and also the right aircraft for its operations.

“The Minster didn’t want Nigeria to be a dumping ground for old planes, not that the old planes are not safe. But at the same time, if you know the amount of money we spend on these planes you will not believe it.

“It is very, very demanding, whatever you make you take it to the MROs (maintenance facility) abroad. So any sensible Minister will be worried. But at that time, we didn’t really understand it but later we started understanding what he was saying. And he started getting us to understand him, trying to explain to us. “Secondly, this government provided enabling environment for us to thrive. The day we went to the Senate, the Minister was fully behind me when I was making presentation as the Vice President of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON). The Minister drove me in his car; we went to the Senate to plead with them to pass certain things into law.

“Today we have Customs duties waived, today we have VAT removed from importation of aircraft, if not I will be paying over N1 billion from this aircraft that is arriving today. Today, it is part of our laws even when President Muhammadu Buhari leaves tomorrow, customs duties, VAT, will never depend any longer on the whims and caprices of whoever becomes President because now it is part of our laws. So government has created the environment for the industry to thrive, it has never happened in the last 15 years,” Onyema said.