Travel News

As the summer holiday approaches, Air passengers are expected to experience an increase in airfares due to devaluation of Naira as well as appreciation of crude oil price which also affect the price of aviation fuel, Jet-A1.

Also, inability to access foreign exchange from the official market has also put pressure on airline operations, causing airfares to skyrocket.

Aviation experts have argued that recent appreciation of crude oil price to $74.10 per barrel in the world market, and Naira’s free-fall to N505/$1 may further escalate the prices of jet-A1 as the landing cost will increase.

It was gathered that there has been a steady increase in the price of aviation fuel in the sector since April till date.

For instance, in April 2021, the price was between N250 and N275 per litre, which was about 200 per cent increase to the N110 price in 2016.

Presently, the price of aviation fuel is as high as between N295 and N300, while the product can be purchased for N302 and above per litre in the northern part of Nigeria.

The difference in prices at various airports, it was learnt, is due to the additional haulage cost incurred from taking the product from Lagos seaports to the airports across the country.

Aside from the multiple taxes and charges on the product, the monopoly of marketers at less viable airports has also raised the price in these airports.

While the cost of transportation of aviation fuel 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. Also, marketers are made to pay for operators’ permits, ground rent for tank farms, and access permits for equipment into airports.

However, airfares are already hitting the roofs and are expected to rise further due to the increasing price of aviation fuel and naira devaluation.

For instance, early morning first flight from Lagos to Kaduna now cost as much as between N60,000 to N65,000, depending, however, on time of booking.

Also, one-way ticket from Lagos to Port Harcourt hovers between N50,000 to N55,000 while from Lagos to Sokoto is between N70,000 to N80,000 and Lagos to Yola is between N63,000 to N65,000.

Speaking on the development, the director of engineering, Ibom air, Mr Lookman Animashaun said, airline operators are presently operating at loss due to the hike in aviation fuel and forex scarcity.

According to him, passenger traffic is expected to drop as airline operators will soon increase fares to meet the present realities.

He said: “Presently, Jet-A1 is soaring and that hasn’t translated into an increase in airfare yet because airline operators are being careful not to effect any increment now.”

“But, truthfully, they are running at a loss and despite that, they are not increasing fares in order not to scare passengers away but with the way things are going presently, they will increase fares. The only thing that can stop the increment is if the government provides a sort of intervention. If not, they will hike the prices, and it will affect passenger traffic, but if we don’t want it to come to that, something tangible should be done to bring down the price,” he said.

Also speaking on the current high cost of Jet A1 fuel and its effect on airline operations, the executive chairman of United Nigeria Airline, Dr Obiora Okonkwo, said the current price of aviation fuel has made operations much more difficult at the current fare regime. 

“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 in terms of high airfares.

“Aviation fuel alone takes between 30 and 40 per cent of airlines’ costs. This calls for grave concern to everyone,” Okonkwo added.

Speaking to LEADERSHIP, a member of the aviation safety round table, Olumide Ohunayo, said since aviation fuel is a major cost in the industry, the increase in price will surely affect price.

He noted that there has been no significant difference between the early booking and late booking as a result of the hike in fuel price.

“Hike in Jet-A1, forex scarcity and naira devaluation are reasons for the high cost of air fares we have now. In the past we used to have differences in fares for early booking but now the difference between early and late bookings is no more significant due to the cost of Jet-A1 and this affects cost of operations for carriers.”

“Fuel is a major cost, and if aviation fuel keeps increasing, the cost of tickets will increase. We have not been able to find a nexus to the aviation fuel issue because we do not refine fuel in Nigeria. All fuels are imported. We have advocated that the airline operators should be involved in bringing aviation fuel into the country or they belong to an association that will make them buy in bulk from marketers, but all our airlines do not buy in bulk but individually, and because of the bad payment in the past, they are forced to pay before delivery,” he added.

Speaking on forex scarcity, Ohunayo advocated special window for airline owners, saying this will ease pressure on operators.

“It is a problem that affects procurement of parts and other components in the industry and training. We have asked for a special window and we hope that a special window will be provided for the sector to get spare parts.

“As the naira is being devalued and since operators collect 99 percent of their revenue in naira, it affects the overall bottom line because they collect in naira and spend mostly in foreign currency, definitely prices of tickets will be affected,” he said.

Ministers to discuss plans, with talks also to determine if they will apply to England only or all UK nations

Plans to significantly open up international travel are expected to be announced on Wednesday, with UK ministers poised to let people who have been fully vaccinated in the US and EU avoid quarantine if arriving from amber list countries.

The move would benefit millions of people by finally letting them be reunited with family and friends based in the UK, as well as businesses in the aviation and tourism sectors that have been hit hard by the pandemic.

Currently, only those who have been inoculated by the NHS are eligible for a “Covid pass” to show upon return that would allow them to skip the self-isolation period of up to 10 days if coming from an amber list country, under the rules of the traffic light system that grades countries according to their case, variant and vaccination rates.

Last week it was confirmed by the vaccines minister, Nadhim Zahawi, that those who had been jabbed abroad but were still registered with a GP in the UK would from August be able to have those doses recognised.

But the move came under criticism from Britons living abroad, who said it benefited a tiny number of people given the NHS is a residency-based system and so British citizens who have moved overseas would still be largely locked out.

The Guardian understands that senior ministers will gather for a meeting of the Covid operations committee on Wednesday morning to sign off plans to start treating Britons who have been fully vaccinated in the US and EU the same as UK residents.

US citizens who have a vaccine card proving they have been fully vaccinated and EU citizens who use the bloc’s “green pass” to demonstrate inoculation are also expected to have their documents recognised, as long as the vaccines they received are authorised for use in the UK.

Government sources stressed the change was not guaranteed and subject to a final agreement at the meeting, with conversations also taking place during the day between Whitehall and the devolved administrations about whether it would apply to England only or all four UK nations.

The Guardian also understands that ministers will discuss adding Spain to the amber plus list.

The whole of the mainland, as well as the Balearic Islands, which were downgraded several weeks ago from the green list, is at risk.

A significant number of European countries allow in Britons who have been fully vaccinated and Brussels’ advice to member states is to accept the NHS app, but the US bars anyone who has been in the UK in the past 14 days from entering the country.

The prime minister, Boris Johnson, and the US president, Joe Biden, announced at the G7 summit in Cornwall last month they would set up a taskforce to re-establish international travel links between both countries.

But hopes of a breakthrough were shattered when the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, said this week that the US would not lift the existing restrictions it places on British nationals owing to the prevalence of the Delta variant.

The US is on the UK’s amber list, meaning all travellers from the country must isolate for 10 days, though they can be released under the “test to release” system after day five. Under the changes hoped to come into force from August, Britons or American citizens who have been fully vaccinated in the US will no longer need to isolate as long as they test negative before departure and after arrival.

While likely to be welcomed by many, the move was expected to happen some time over the summer, given a review of the UK’s Covid rules on international travel was due to take place before 31 July.

Further changes to the red, amber and green lists are not expected to be made until next Thursday, with particular attention focused on France.

Ministers decided with only a few days’ notice that all those returning home from France who were fully vaccinated would not be exempt from self-isolating, with the Beta variant blamed for the move.

Some government figures are optimistic that France will be moved from “amber plus” from 9 August, given the number of Beta cases there is not as high as first thought.

The move caused a significant split among some cabinet ministers, given the Joint Biosecurity Centre had initially advised France be put on the red list – a significant step that would have meant only British residents and nationals being allowed to travel home across the Channel.

In an attempt to encourage the government to ease international travel restrictions, Heathrow, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic ran a 10-day pilot scheme, which they said showed US and EU fully vaccinated passengers could be safely exempted from the requirement to isolate.

Around 250 double-jabbed passengers on selected flights from New York, Los Angeles, Jamaica and Athens in July presented their credentials using paper or digital formats before boarding the plane.

Around 99% of their documents were verified as authentic, while just two passengers’ credentials were rejected. In one case there was a discrepancy between the name on the passenger’s vaccine card when compared to their passport, while another had been fullyvaccinated less than 14 days before travel.

Shai Weiss, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, criticised the UK’s “overly cautious approach” to international travel, saying it would harm the country’s economic recovery and put half a million jobs at risk.

John Holland-Kaye, the chief executive of Heathrow airport, also said there was “now no reason to delay” with exempting double-jabbed passengers from isolating.

BY  Julie SteenhuysenAlistair SmoutAri Rabinovitch

Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago, Alistair Smout in London, Ari Rabinovitch and Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem; Editing by Will Dunham and Bill Berkrot

(Bloomberg) -- American and European Union travelers who have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus will no longer need to spend 10 days in quarantine after they arrive in England.

Under plans backed by British ministers on Wednesday, international leisure cruises will also resume after being put on hold for more than a year.

The reforms to travel rules will allow visitors from the U.S. and most EU countries to enter the U.K. on the same basis as Britons who have received two Covid shots. U.K. residents are are no longer required to self-isolate when returning from most medium-risk countries.

More details are expected to be announced later on Wednesday. The rule change initially applies to England, but other nations in the U.K. have generally followed the same regimes for international travel.

The plans will deliver a significant boost to Britain’s aviation and travel sector, which has lagged the recovery in continental Europe.

This summer, American tourists on European holidays have largely bypassed the U.K. to avoid quarantines. And while vaccinated Britons can travel with less hassle to Spain or Portugal, EU residents haven’t been able to easily get to tourist attractions like the Tower of London.

Read more: Heathrow CEO Sees U.K. Ready to Let In Vaccinated Americans

While the U.K. decision will ease the barriers to travel from the U.S., the Biden administration isn’t likely to reciprocate any time soon. Last week, the U.S. advised Americans to avoid traveling to the U.K. because of a surge in coronavirus infections.

“We want people to be able to come from the U.S. freely in a way that they normally do. We’re talking to them the whole time,” Johnson said in an interview with LBC radio Wednesday. “At the moment we’re dealing with a delta wave, the U.S. is dealing with a delta wave, but be assured that we are on it the whole time.”

European Visitors

As Johnson’s government has eased restrictions in recent weeks, interest in foreign holidays has surged, especially for Britons aiming to visit neighboring European destinations.

Low-cost carriers such as Ryanair Holdings Plc, EasyJet Plc and Wizz Air Holdings Plc have added capacity, though most of the action is still in the EU. The U.K.’s easing means more relief is on its way.

“This is absolutely positive,” Wizz Chief Executive Officer Jozsef Varadi said in an interview, referring to EU-U.K. travel. “It’s a move that is long overdue and needed to happen. It makes sense for both parties.”

Shares of EasyJet, most dependent on the U.K. among the three discounters, advanced as much as 5.3% on Wednesday. Ryanair added 2.6% and Wizz, which has been expanding into the U.K. from its Hungarian base, gained up to 6.9% after predicting a return to pre-pandemic capacity levels by August in its quarterly results report.

British Airways owner IAG SA, which would benefit from more traffic between the U.K. and the U.S., rose as much as 4%.

Under rules that went into effect this month, Britons with both doses of a Covid vaccine no longer have to quarantine for 10 days after returning to the U.K. from more than 100 countries on the so-called “amber list” of medium-risk locations.

Instead they must take Covid tests before setting off on their journeys to the U.K. and again after arriving. Similar rules on testing are expected to apply to travelers from the EU and the U.S., under the reforms drawn up by ministers.

Passengers will also need to show proof of Covid status via so-called vaccine passports.

Nigeria will soon reopen its Consulate-General in San Francisco to provide consular services for the huge population of Nigerians residing on the West Coast of the US.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Gabriel Aduda, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in New York on Monday that the plan to re-open the mission had reached “an advanced stage“.

The Federal Government shut down the San Francisco, California, Consulate in 1989. The five-room, 4,250-square foot property is owned by Nigeria.

Aduda said: “We think rather than having Nigerians residing in California travelling to the East Coast or to the North Coast, they don’t have to travel that far.

“The mission (San Francisco) is very important and in the next few months, before the end of the year, the mission will be running,’’ he said.

The permanent secretary said that the ministry and members of the National Assembly committees on Foreign Affairs had visited all the Nigerian missions in the US in June for on-the-spot assessment.

“We visited the Embassy in Washington, DC, the New York Mission, the Atlanta Mission and we took a trip to San Francisco where we hope to re-open another mission that will service the West Coast,’’ he said.

On the state of facilities in the Nigerian missions, Aduda said there was the need for the facilities to be maintained as some of them had been in existence for so long.

“There is the need for upgrading, there is the need for routine maintenance and on the whole, service-wise, I think we were quite satisfied with what we saw at the missions.

“You will see that there are changes in all the missions in the US, especially Atlanta and New York, when it comes to the services that are being rendered to Nigerians.

“This is because, during the visit, it gave us the opportunity to discuss with the staff of the missions the new direction that the Federal Government is aiming,“ the said.

The permanent secretary said most of the challenges presented by the staff were immigration-related and they were already being addressed.

Aduda said Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) was totally responsible for producing passports and that the shortage of passport booklets was due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“COVID-19 slowed down a lot of things and we got a lot of backlog, so the inability to meet up is what created the problem in offering passport service to Nigerians abroad.’’

The permanent secretary assured Nigerians living in the US of improved services on passport issuance.

He said with the level of support the ministry was getting from NIS, the missions would not be talking about shortage of passport booklet by the end of the year.

The permanent secretary said the Nigeria High Commission in London had a backlog of about 19,000 passports but had been cleared in three months.

He said another batch of passport booklets had been received at the Consulate-General of Nigeria in Atlanta adding, a lot is being done and we are hoping that before the end of this year, we will be on a clean slate.

Aduda commended the Consulate-General in New York for providing improved passport services to Nigerians within its jurisdiction and for organising a cultural show to promote Nigeria’s rich heritage.

The permanent secretary said the consulate had adopted cultural diplomacy through the show to sell the good image of Nigeria to the world.

The consulate had on Saturday organised a cultural show, with the theme “Nigeria: Our Community, Cultures and Unity’’, to showcase Nigeria’s festivals, dances, and fashions, among others.

Aduda, who was at the event, said the consulate had promoted Nigeria’s culture in a way that people would able be to buy-in.

He said people would get to know the opportunities, the advantages and rich resources in the country, adding, “we are going to do more of the shows.

“We only showcased two festivals – the Osun-Osogbo and the Argungu Fishing Festivals – out of the diverse cultural festivals. We hope it will actually draw people to exploit the tourism potential of the country.

“If you look at Osun-Osogbo festival, you will notice so many foreigners; if you look at Argungu, you will see many foreigners, if you look at Calabar carnivals at the end of the year, it is the same.

“In fact, there was a time we had about 20 different countries in attendance at the Calabar carnival,  so apart from the economic benefit, you would have raised ambassadors that will go back with good image of the country,’’

(NAN)

BY  Kayode Oyero

A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr. Obadiah Mailafia, says commercial banks in the country cannot be trusted with forex sales, adding that they will “corner” the dollars and only release whatever that is left after satisfying their interest.

He spoke on Wednesday while featuring on PUNCH Online interview programme, The Roundtable.

The PUNCH had earlier reported that CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, on Tuesday, said Bureau de Change Operators in the country are greedy and make abnormal profit from forex sales.

Emefiele also announced the discontinuation of and new licence approval after the Monetary Policy Committee two-day meeting in Abuja.

The CBN had been supplying each licensed BDCs $20,000 per week at the rate of N393 with the instruction that they should sell with a margin of N2 but some of them sell as high as N505, making over N100 on every dollar sold.

According to Emefiele, BDC operators in the country continue to abuse the privilege, hence, the need to stop forex sales to them.

The CBN governor said commercial banks would be monitored to provide forex for the legitimate use of Nigerians.

But Mailafia said commercial banks cannot be trusted and would sell the dollar at any rate they wish.

“How can you totally trust these commercial banks because most of them will want to corner the dollar for themselves and whatever is left, then they can now share with the market at a rate they want?” he queried on PUNCH Roundtable.

The former deputy governor of the apex bank also said, “On the naira, it is not just the underlying economic fundamentals that matters like interest rate, inflation and so on, these things matter and the level of debt affect it but there are the non-quantifiable elements like violence, instability, rural banditry and terrorism, those things undermine the productive capacity of the economy. They also destroy social capital, the trust that holds the community together to do businesses together.

“If we are not careful, that decision will actually worsen the naira value because the BDCs, you could walk into any of them anywhere and within five minutes, they will attend to you but the banks, you have to drive to your nearest bank, you have to queue most of the time.

“The CBN has not told us the rate, the banks will want to make a profit over the official rate, we don’t know whether they will make a decent profit or they will profiteer. Bankers were the biggest experts in round-tripping. Old habits, I don’t think they change. Leopards are very unlikely to change their spots.

“So, we may end up in a scenario where there is scarcity and the simple economics of demand and supply tells you that where there is increase scarcity, price is likely to shoot up.

“If bank bureaucracy makes it difficult for people to access dollar, what it means is that the bureaucracies, obstacles and bottlenecks are likely to put pressure on supply and pressure on supply may mean an increase in demand for the dollar and greater fall of the naira, if we don’t play the cards well.”

Recent developments in the aviation sector such as compliance of airlines has put  the industry under focus. Increasingly,  experts are calling on the regulator to step up its duties to improve the nation’s safety ratings. In this interview with KELVIN OSA-OKUNBOR, Captain Ibrahim Mshelia, the Chairman, West Link Airlines and owner of Mish Aviation, a private aviation training school in Ghana sheds light on the  interventions needed raise the stakes of aviation.

Do you think the aviation industry is over regulated, especially given what has transpired recently?

Aviation cannot be over regulated because it has a process. It is one of the most regulated industries in the world. But it is also the normal thing. So, any aviator would readily acknowledge it is the most regulated. But to say over-regulated, I don’t think this is correct. Yes, there is over zealousness in some cases by individuals but the regulation is very clear. Before it is made, it is proposed to stakeholders, amendments are made, our voices are taken into account and then the regulation comes out.

What about the regulatory regime?

Even though the regulation needs more of our voices because when they were passed into law, there were some  complaints of insufficient time given for contributions, but then it was due to an upcoming external audit or so I gathered. But aviation needs to be regulated the way it is, but whether there are lacuna here and there obviously there are is another thing.

Quite frankly, there is a Nigerian factor in almost everything we do, so we don’t say that is NCAA even, we, the operators, too, there are Nigerian factors in our attitude, but as far as safety is concerned, we would never have made the FAA category 1, if we are not doing things right.

What about the last incident with Azman? What do you think went wrong, if anything?

NCAA needs to take a knock for that, particularly those things that are meant to be comprehension issues. There is always a yardstick before you become a pilot – you have to be age 17, minimum. If you go to some schools they’d say you have to have English and Mathematics minimum, my school adopted the same and the reason is simply because flying is a science and when you know Mathematics and English, you’d be able to comprehend the teachings of aviation and aerodynamics and co. So, it makes it easier when you have that background. It’s like a foundation, but it does not also necessarily mean that you cannot achieve the same result doing it differently.

What could the NCAA have done differently ?

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So, what NCAA has done in that case where they need to get a knock is because, they were complacent in certifying the key post holders, you must have post holders that are qualified and if you have a key post holders, who is supposed to be at the helm, he must comply with certain minimum standards just as ICAO says for the NCAA man to inspect you and we hammer on that, we insist that the NCAA must make sure that whoever they send to inspect must have qualifications equivalent to those they are coming to inspect or above.

Are there gaps in the system?

Now, it looks like there are lapses on their side and so they allowed lapses on the other side. To be an accountable manager or a key post holder, you have to be qualified; even go through an interview; even that interview must be in the English he understands. The duty of an Accountable manager is simplified but actually difficult as he must understand the workings and what he is expected to do with this your company. The answer is yes, they tick it, but do you really understand? There will be maintenance issues coming up, for the tyre issue.

Has the policy of banning aircraft that are over 22 years from operating in Nigeria helped develop this industry?

First of all, I am not aware of any country, including Nigeria, that based airworthiness of aircraft on age. Once the aircraft can meet the  requirements for Certificate of Airworthiness (C of A), it is issued to that aircraft and owner, the certificate signifying that the aircraft is safe to fly.

It’s not scientifically correct to restrict importation on age and we have said this times without number. A professional colleague is a minister, we hope these are some of the things he will reverse before he leaves. The initial 22 years’ban were best left as politically motivated for reasons that no longer exists, so why is it still there? To give a 22-year life sentence for registration is premature. I call on the Federal Government to, please, remove that from the laws so NCAA can do their job. That’s for NCAA actually to determine and not the ministry and or the National Assembly.The 22-year ban was done during the tenure of Mrs Kema Chikwe as minister and the National Assembly of that time. Haba! It’s encouraged that laws be revised every 10 years. It’s been over 20 years and nobody seems to be making any efforts to delete this very bad anti-development law. A plane only flies when a properly trained and certified pilot is on it flying it. For a serviceable aircraft and a qualified pilot to fly, they also need a third approval to do so: It is either it is flown for commercial purposes or private use. Both require prior permits or licences before you can operate the plane(s). So, an aircraft is not like a car that you have road worthiness and drivers’ licence, then start your car and start moving!! No!, cars and planes are different kettles of fish.

What about the effect on private aircraft?

For private use, you are not subjected to rigorous procedures for maintenance and operation as the commercial where Air Operator Certificate (AOC) is required. In essence, NCAA is there to ensure passengers who pay  are served safely and in accordance with approved demonstrated ability and quality. So, it’s a high risk and illegal to fly passengers for reward or payment when you are not certified. In case of accident in such cases, even the insurance will smile away because commercial passengers are only insured on airplanes operated by approved AOC holders.

Is age important when it comes to safety of aircraft operations?

Age is not a factor of serviceability. Yes, ageing aircraft programme can be more expensive, but not out of scope for operators to comply. Again, aircraft are designed to last based on material test and capabilities of air frames among other things. A non-pressurised air frame will have to be damaged or corroded before it becomes a concern for safety. The pressurised air frame, however, is designed based on tested design circles. Each time you take off and land with a pressuring air frame, you add stress to cabin as you pressurise and wings when you land. The manufacturer counts each flight (take-off and landing) as a cycle.

What about the life cycles for aircraft?

Now, some manufacturers can design air frames to go up to 60,000 cycles or more. Let’s look at a typical Nigerian airline which does an average four flights with one particular aircraft per day and Monday to Friday as weekends are usually used for maintenance and light schedule. So, we will add per cent at the end to compensate for the weekends). Four flights a day at five days per week in 52 weeks of the year will be 1,040 cycles. So, if we divide, base on say an assumed first lifespan cycle of 30,000 cycles,1,040 annual circles will be 28 years. And mind you, this can also go through a D check and be renewed again for whatever the test determines or even another 30,000 cycles etc. Don’t forget too that no plane can fly continuously back-to-back for 28 years; they will probably fly average of eight to 10 months in a year. Take an average of nine months. That should extend the first life by 28 by further three month yearly, which is additional seven years. Thus the first circle for that aircraft before overhaul will be 35 years minimum. Twenty-two years, therefore, is a far cry!!.

When do you think an aircraft is no longer serviceable?

When the manufacturer’s circles are reached and material failures cannot be guaranteed and, therefore, aircraft is unable to pass certain laid down ageing programme maintenance checks and fail to pass a C or A inspection. Then that aircraft is scrapped. Or if the owner feels like he does not want the plane anymore and scraps it. There are too many technicalities that should not be politicised. Those who take decisions don’t know and, therefore, rely on consultants. There are so many armchair “consultants” these days. A real professional will wait to be invited. Those in office should be weary of those who throw themselves at them, claiming to be experts under all sorts of names. Otherwise we will never discard some of these obnoxious rules that hinder General Aviation (GA) growth. When GA grows, everything grows!!!

Can you explain the maintenance cycle of an aircraft and if any check from A-D compensates for the aircraft hull?

The opening question has the details. Maintenance is not based on age, but hours or circles.These hours or circles take 100 years, depending on utilisation. If you are allowed say 30,000 circles as explained, the circles cannot be back-to-back and day to day. Thirty thousand circles, even when flown back-to-back, if it were possible, will occur in 28 years plus. or as late as 100 years in low utilisation. So, you see how that ban was insensitive to scientific reality. I don’t even like talking about it quite frankly. It’s a standard one would expect an FAA CAT1 country not to take at all. An accident obviously retires aircraft if the level of damage is serious like C level or bad B level damage.

How does this industry think it can develop when the financial capacity to sustain this is not available?

Well, the only way is to start general aviation, ease the process and allow more competition. That’s the most civil solution. If I have an airline flying for less, I will choose that cheaper one. But when there seems to be a gang up between the few available, then they can do what they want. You also cannot stop them. It’s a matter of choice and when a provider chooses to exploit or take advantage, then the client can choose the alternatives or cancel. More airlines are coming on stream, this will mitigate this problem. In defence of the airlines, there are many factors that affect ticket pricing in Nigeria. Aviation does not enjoy oil money anymore.

What about aviation agencies ?

The agencies have to employ people above what they need because there is pressure from all over. They also have to generate revenue to pay the staff, develop infrastructure and maintain them. Not only that, they have to contribute to the Federation Account some 25 per cent of income or so. I am not sure of the figure but I think 25 per cent or so. Airlines are faced sometimes with fuel price increase like every other day. More labour force at the agencies because they are forced to employ everyone and must pay salary and sustain them at work. How can they do these without taxing the airlines heavily? I feel those who advised the government to remove the Aviation ministry from Federal subvention should go back and re-jig the ideas and re- advise government to amend the decision. 

Even funding the salaries from the subvention will ease the agencies and cause a huge relief from the burden. Ideally, the number of staff are just way more than required but because we must give employment to citizens, by all means, why not? But we must also try not to over milk the cow because we may soon end up without any. It’s the government’s responsibility to provide all sorts of security, including jobs. Let them pay them directly while the agencies use them. Also, inconsistent fuel pricing, airlines paying duty for spare parts on waivers. As I speak, I still pay duty for all parts I import to service our aircraft. I don’t even know if there is anything we produce locally that we use to operate our aircraft these days besides just catering. Depending on imports for everything and yet-duty waivers granted are still being collected from operators is part of what’s making the citizens and travellers pay more. Operators have to recover their investments. They are encouraged by same system to also recover their costs.The government, therefore, holds the final say on these.

(Bloomberg) -- The United Arab Emirates will allow all resident doctors to apply for so-called “golden visas,” a 10-year permit covering specialized sectors including science, innovation and health care.

Doctors licensed by UAE health regulators can apply before September 2022, state-run news agency WAM reported Wednesday.

The long-term visa allows foreigners to work, live and study without needing an Emirati sponsor. Expat residents make up nearly 90% of the UAE population but many left as the pandemic eliminated some employment opportunities.

Nigeria’s latest surge in coronavirus infections gathered pace on Wednesday with new confirmed cases rising above 500 for the first time in four months following the spread of the more contagious Delta variant.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) figures on Thursday morning, showed another 535 cases were reported on Wednesday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 535 is the highest daily number, which is now the biggest daily increase in the country since March 4, 2021, when 708 cases were registered.

After months of low recorded numbers, the country’s infections has been on the rise in the past two weeks shortly after the discovery of the 10 Delta variant, first identified in India and is considered by government scientists to be between 60 per cent and 80 per cent more transmissible than the previous dominant strain.

The NCDC noted that the additional 535 cases registered was an increase in the previous high figure of 404, which was reported on July 27 as the highest daily record in four months.

The Public Health Agency said that the Infection rates have largely been concentrated in Lagos state, which is the country’s epicenter.

It added that Lagos again recorded the highest number on Wednesday’s infection tally.

It stated that the country’s epicenter of the virus recorded 219 out of the 535 daily total, representing a decline from its previous high figures of 356, followed by Akwa-Ibom state with 142 new cases and Oyo with 47.

Amongst others were; Rivers state with 17 reported cases, Jigawa and Edo 13 each, Ekiti and Bayelsa 11 each, Ondo -10, Osun-9, Plateau-8, Ogun and Kaduna 7 each, Kano and the FCT 5 each, while Gombe and Nasarawa reported 4 and 3 respectively.

The agency regrettably recorded five additional COVID-19 related death on Wednesday, keeping the death toll at 2,139 in the country.

The Public Health Institute said that 49 people have recovered and were discharged from various isolation centres in the country on Wednesday.

The agency added that 164,886 recoveries have been recorded nationwide.

It added that a multi-sectoral national emergency operations centre (EOC), activated at Level 2, continues to coordinate the national response activities.

It noted that the country has also tested more than 2.4 million samples for the virus out the country’s roughly 200 million population.

The NCDC said that the country’s active cases stood at over 4,000, and the country’s total infections rose to 172,263 as at July 28. 2021.

(Bloomberg) -- Governor Phil Murphy urged New Jerseyans to mask indoors when Covid-19 transmission risk is increased but stopped short of issuing a mask mandate.

The decision comes after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reversed its indoor mask policy on Tuesday for vaccinated people in a bid to stem a surge of cases linked to the contagious delta variant.

“Our metrics are trending in the wrong direction, and new data suggests the delta variant is more transmissible even among vaccinated individuals, which is why we are making this strong recommendation,” the governor and state Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said in a joint statement.

Across New Jersey, hospitalizations have increased 55% since the start of the month, to 473 on July 27, according to state data. The transmission rate, which measures how many people are infected by a virus-positive individual, is 1.5, the highest since the pandemic’s initial New Jersey peak, and greater than the second wave linked to late-year holiday gatherings.

“Our metrics are trending in the wrong direction, and new data suggests the Delta variant is more transmissible even among vaccinated individuals, which is why we are making this strong recommendation,” according to the statement.

In lieu of a mandatory requirement, Murphy urged “personal responsibility” to “mask up indoors when prudent.”