Travel News

(Bloomberg) -- The war in Ukraine risks sparking a food shortage crisis that would trigger a major migration wave into Europe from Africa and the Middle East, the EU’s migration chief said.

European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas said severe shortages would lead people looking for food to head north in a much more chaotic fashion than the migration of millions of Ukrainians sparked by the initial invasion. 

A hunger-driven migration is “not going to be so manageable, it’s going to be more messy,” Schinas said in an interview with Bloomberg on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He pointed to the prospect of migrants trying to make their way by boat, adding, “We have a global interest in in avoiding this.” 

The European Union had been planning for major migration waves at the start of the pandemic and following the U.S. exit from Afghanistan but those didn’t come to pass. 

Schinas said unblocking the ports in Ukraine, where 20 million tons of wheat are stuck, wouldn’t solve the problem but would send a positive signal to markets and start to ease the broader crisis. 

Schinas also said he expects the 2.7 million Ukrainian refugees registered under an EU protection scheme to stay in the bloc. So far, he said he hasn’t seen an uptick in support for far-right political parties, as was the case after the migration crisis in 2015, when more than a million refugees fled the war in Syria.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how Nigeria also has the highest number of African students in the United States, with 12,860 students enrolled in the 2020/2021 academic year.

By Qosim Suleiman

The number of Nigerians studying in the United Kingdom (UK) has risen from 13,020 in the 2019/2020 academic session to 21,305 by the 2020/2021 session.

The figure, which amounts to an almost 64 per cent increase within a year, is confirmed by data from the UK’s Higher Education Statistics Agency.

The UK has also witnessed a 13.08 per cent increase in the international student enrolment at the postgraduate level between 2019/20 and 2020/21.

The country currently houses 605,130 students in the 2020/2021 session, up from 556,625 in the previous academic session.

Alma Miftari, a representative of Erudera, a higher education search platform, believes that the ‘unprecedented’ rise in the number of Nigerian students in the UK is due to the prestigious reputation of UK universities, their history, quality education, and the multicultural environment they offer.

She said: “The UK is the second most popular study destination in the world, counting 605,130 international students by the last academic year, the highest it ever had. The reputation of universities such as Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, and the UK higher education system continues to engross ambitious people who want to make a bigger impact”

Right after the UK, the top other countries Nigerians choose are The United States, Canada, Malaysia, Ukraine, South Africa, and Germany.

However, the United Kingdom remained the world’s second most popular study destination among international students, just after the US, with 605,130 international students during the 2020/2021 academic session.

Although the UK and the United States (US) are destination choices for many Nigerian students, the US witnessed a decrease in enrolment this year as a result of COVID19 vaccination protocols.

Nigerian students in the UK

The number of Nigerian students in the UK has always been on the increase, but the latest increase rate is unprecedented.

For instance, the number rose from 10,685 in the 2017/18 session to 10,810 in 2018/19 and 13,020 in 2019/20 before 21,305 students during the 2020/21 academic sessions.

The data also revealed that Nigeria is the third non-EU country with the most students in the UK with 21,305 students currently enrolled in UK institutions, ahead of the United States with 19,220 students.

China and India with 143,820 and 84,555 students respectively have the highest number of students in the UK.

Right after Nigeria, other African countries with high number of students in the UK by the last academic year are Egypt (3,260), Ghana (2,795), Kenya (2,640), South Africa (2,060), and Morocco (1,265).

According to the data, over 21,000 Nigerians are settled majorly across England (16,980) Scotland (2,655) Wales (935) Northern Ireland (740).

Right after the UK, the top other countries Nigerian choose are The United States, Canada, Malaysia, Ukraine, South Africa, Germany, etc.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how Nigeria has the highest number of African students in the U.S., with 12,860 students enrolled in the 2020/2021 academic year.

This is despite a 6.6 per cent decrease from 13,762 students in the previous 2019/2020 academic year, resulting from the stringent COVID19 vaccination protocols in the US at the beginning of the year.

According to Erudera, the three top subjects of study for international students in the UK were Business and Management, Engineering and Technology, and Social Sciences.

Erudera noted that the largest number of international students in the UK study Business and Management (177,715). Engineering and Technology is the second most chosen subject of study for international students in the UK with 63,375 students.

Social Sciences and Computing rank third and fourth respectively in the number of international students enrolled in such disciplines.

Qosim Suleiman is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe.

By   Abdullateef Aliyu

As the Kaduna International Airport reopened for operation after two months of shutdown, passengers now battle with the over N100,000 per ticket for flights between Abuja and Kaduna.

The airport was closed after a terrorist attack on March 28 at the international airport resulting in the death of a security guard.

The Abuja-Kaduna train service which provided relief was also attacked with several victims still in captivity just as the Abuja-Kaduna road has been reported to be under attack.

Daily Trust reports that Azman Air resumed flight on Monday from the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos with 42 passengers. 

However, some joined the airline from Abuja to Lagos and then connected the flight to Kaduna. This made their trip two-legged, costing between N100,000 and N125,000. 

Checks on the website of Azman Air yesterday indicated that a Kaduna flight from Lagos on Friday (today) costs N75,000 for a one-way ticket. For any passenger flying to Lagos to connect Kaduna from Abuja, he would have to pay an extra N50,000 or more to Lagos before flying to Kaduna. 

A source said the reopening of the Kaduna Airport was facilitated by the state government through a committee raised to assess the transportation situation.

“The traders specifically made a case to the state government that bringing their goods to the state has been very difficult in view of the closure of the airport and the train service. So, you can be sure people were ready to pay even if it would cost almost N150,000 just to avoid the Abuja-Kaduna highway,” the source said.

Executive Director, Zenith Travels and Consult, Mr. Olumide Ohuanyo, said there was nothing unusual about the cost.

He said, “The air fare is deregulated. Airlines are at liberty to fix any fare. They just have to file notification to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority. With that, it is easier for the airlines and the passengers to determine their fares using the forces of demand and supply.

“Presently, Kaduna is one of the most dangerous cities to go into by land, either by road, rail or if there is water transportation. So, it is a hot cake. Tickets are programmed in such a way that they increase as demand increases,” he noted.

BY  VICTOR OLUWOLE

Harare, Zimbabwe and Lagos, Nigeria are some of the cities that ranked poorly in this latest report.
The report by Economist Intelligence Unit ranks the most livable cities across the globe as well as the least liveable cities.
Lagos in Nigeria makes the list as the worst city to live in.
The Economist Intelligence Unit has released the list of 10 most livable cities across the globe as well as the world's 10 least liveable cities.

As in previous surveys, the report noted that living conditions in Lagos, Nigeria; Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea; and Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh are among the worst in the world.

Its report , "The Global Liveability Index 2021," uses the combination of five factors to rate the livability of all the cities across the globe.

The first three factors are: Stability (level of crime and conflict), Healthcare (presence and quality of healthcare) as well as Environmental/Cultural factors (climate, religious restrictions, food and drinks).

Others are: Education (quality and availability of private or public education), and infrastructure (quality of roads, public transport, provision of water, housing, energy and telecommunications).

“A consistently low stability score, owing to ongoing civil unrest and military conflicts, is the reason behind most of these cities featuring in the bottom ten. However, conditions have deteriorated even further as a result of Covid-19—particularly for healthcare,” the report stated.

Of the top 10 least liveable cities, five can be found in Africa. Below is the liveability rating for these African cities:

1. Lagos, Nigeria is ranked as the least liveable city in Africa

Lagos ranked one of the worst cities in the world. (Business Insider Africa)

Rank: 139
Rating: 38.5
Stability: 20
Healthcare: 20.8
Culture and Environment: 41.0
Education: 25.0
Infrastructure: 46.4
2. Algiers, Algeria

Algerians play football in Algiers' Bab el-Oued neighbourhood, which is historically known to be a predominantly pro-Mouloudia Club Alger (MCA) area

Rank: 136
Rating: 34.1
Stability: 35
Healthcare: 29.2
Culture and Environment: 37.3
Education: 41.7
Infrastructure: 30.4
3. Tripoli, Libya

Soldiers loyal to Libya's UN-backed government in Sirte, east of Tripoli on October 14, 2016, during their military operation to clear Islamic State group jihadists from the city

Rank: 135
Rating: 34.2
Stability: 30
Healthcare: 29.2
Culture and Environment: 33.8
Education: 41.7
Infrastructure: 41.1
4. Harare, Zimbabwe

Working clarr residents in the Harare suburb of Glen view rely on water pumped from boreholes drilled by a donor or city authorities.

Rank: 133
Rating: 36.6
Stability: 40
Healthcare: 12.5
Culture and Environment: 44.4
Education: 58.3
Infrastructure: 35.7
5. Douala, Cameroon

9. Douala, Cameroon — 44/100 points. The city's healthcare scored particularly low, with just 25 points.

Rank: 132
Rating: 38.6
Stability: 60
Healthcare: 12.5
Culture and Environment: 40.3
Education: 25.0
Infrastructure: 42.9

BY  Neil Lancefield 

A Norwegian airline has started selling tickets for budget transatlantic flights from Gatwick.

Norse Atlantic Airways is offering return trips to New York JFK from £255.

Daily flights on the route begin on August 12 using Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

Other US destinations to be served by the carrier will be announced shortly.

The airline is hoping to succeed where Norwegian Air Shuttle failed.

Norwegian operated transatlantic flights with low fares but axed its long-haul operations in January 2021 due to heavy losses.

Related video: Gatwick reopens south terminal as airlines ramp up schedules (Wales Online)

It was founded by Bjorn Kjos, who resigned as chief executive in July 2019 and holds a minority stake in Norse.

BY  Fabunmi Funmilayo

There was pandemonium at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos on Saturday night as a seven-hour closure of the international runway for repairs later turned to a total closure of the Lagos airspace for several hours due to unexpected delays in the rehabilitation work on the Runway 18R.

The seven-hour closure of the Runway 18R ( MMIA international wing’s runway), meant to last from 7am to 2pm, was later extended to 6:30 pm due to unexpected delays in the repair works.

While this lasted, arriving and departing flights were diverted to the local runway (Runway 18L/36R).

However, the situation became worsened when officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria fixing the runway discovered the rehabilitation works would last beyond the sunset, contrary to the programme.

Unfortunately, the domestic runway where local and international flights had been diverted does not have lighting facilities for night landing of flights.

The development caused a temporary pandemonium among officials of FAAN and the Nigerian Airspace Management Authority.

However, NAMA later issued a third Notice to Airmen (NOTAM)- an electronic message to pilots and the entire global aviation community-informing that the Lagos airspace had become closed till 11 pm.

The first and second NOTAM had informed pilots of the temporary closure of the runway of the international wing of the airport between 7am and 2pm, and subsequently between 2pm and 6:30pm.

As a result of the temporary closure of the Lagos airspace, several flights due to depart and arrive at Lagos airport in the late evening were hit by several hours of delays, a situation that forced pilots to divert some local and international flights to Abuja, Accra (Ghana) and other airports.

Specifically, a KLM flight from Amsterdam coming to land at the Lagos airport around 7pm was diverted to the Kotoka International Airport, Accra, Ghana.

Also, some inbound local flights which were caught up by the sudden closure of the Lagos airspace were forced to divert to Abuja and other airports.

Other flights meant to depart Ilorin, Benin, Port Harcourt and other airports across the country in the late evening were delayed until around 10pm when the Lagos airspace was eventually opened.

Also, international flights meant to depart Lagos between 7pm and 9pm were hit by several hours of delays, with some of the pilots complaining that their passengers would miss their connecting flights.

Specifically, Dubai-bound Emirates Airlines, Instanbul-bound Turkish Airlines and Doha-bound Qatar Airways, meant to depart between 7pm and 8pm did not depart until around 10pm when the Lagos airspace was opened.

Airport officials confirmed the majority of the passengers would miss their connections.

FAAN had in a letter dated May 24, 2022, said the closure of the international runway (Runway 18R/36L) would last from 0600hours to 1300hours-UTC on 28, 2022.

According to the letter, rehabilitation works to be carried out on Runway 18R/36L will hold on weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) from May 28 to 29, 2022, and June 4 to 5, 2022.

The agency, however, said the runway of the local wing of MMIA, (Runway 18L/36R) would be available for departures and arrivals.
However, the unfortunate development of Saturday appeared to have affected the airlines badly. Officials said FAAN should get its acts together in subsequent closures of the runway on Sunday and next weekend.

Unconfirmed sources said the delays were caused by the late arrival of the contractor to the site while officials said some of the equipment meant for the repair works broke down.

The spokesperson for FAAN, Mrs Faithful Avokerie Hope-Ivbaze, was not available for comments as of the time of filing this report.

Some of the local flights reportedly hit by the delays, especially in Abuja include Dana Air, Ibom Air, Max Air, United Nigeria Air, Aero Contractors, and Air Peace. They were forced to delay their arrivals in Lagos.

BY  Edidiong Ikpoto

The average airfare paid by passengers on specified routes for a single journey has increased by 52 per cent in the past 12 months, the National Bureau of Statistics data have shown.

In a new report titled, “Transport Fare Watch (April 2022),” the NBS said airfares recorded a 19 per cent increase when gauged on a month-on-month basis.

On state profile analysis, Taraba recorded the highest air transport charges (for specified routes single journey) in April 2022 with N65,000.00, followed by Kogi with N64,258.91, while Kano recorded the least with N50,000.00.

Analysis by zone also showed that the North-Central recorded the highest airfare in April, 2022 with N57,552.54, followed by the North-East with N56,800.16, while the South-East had the least with N53,402.58.

The significant hike in airfares, according to findings, is not unconnected to the recent challenges faced by local airlines, ranging from energy price hikes to lack of access to foreign exchange.

The PUNCH had earlier reported how domestic airline operators threatened to ground their operations due to a substantial increase in the price of Jet A1, also called aviation fuel.

Speaking in an interview with our correspondent, an official in the Corporate Affairs Department of the Airline Operators of Nigeria, the umbrella body for local carriers, Mr. Ewos Iroro, described the factors behind the increase of airfares as obvious concerns which the operators had clamoured about over the past few months.

According to him, the onus of relieving the sector of the bottlenecks affecting the operations of the airlines is a responsibility the government should take more seriously.

He said, “We know what has been happening in the sector in the last few months. The price of jet fuel has gone up. There are so many factors. All the factors are already out there. Airlines don’t determine most of the factors. Airlines are also operating in a system.”

The Chief Executive Officer, TopBrass Aviation, Captain Roland Iyayi, also blamed the inability of the government to solve certain fundamental challenges as the reason behind the spike in airfares in the last one year.

According to him, energy costs constitute about 50 per cent of airlines operating cost. This, he said, would invariably give rise to a corresponding hike in airfares.

Iyayi said, “I think the solution is actually in the hands of the government. If for instance, our refineries were working, the cost of fuel would have been lower than what it is today. Fuel, for airlines constitute about 50 per cent of their direct operating cost. So, if you take that fuel increased from N150 to about N700; that’s about 400 per cent increase, but nobody is talking about that. If fuel increased by 400 per cent and airfares increased by 52%, and fuel comprises 50 per cent of the direct operating cost of an airline’s cost of production, then there is something very significantly wrong. I would assume that based on those numbers, airlines may not even be breaking even.”

Also speaking, an economic expert at the Pan-Atlantic University, Associate Professor Emeka Osuji described the hike as inevitable considering recent events in the aviation sector and the attendant economic consequences of these events.

He said, “Aviation fuel has gone up. I don’t blame the airlines. When aviation fuel goes up like it has done, you have to expect an increase. The politicians have taken all the dollars for their political activities. Everything about an aircraft is dollarised, now the dollar has gone up to N600. When that happens you don’t need anybody to tell you what it will give rise to.”

Osuji also said the economy had been badly managed and decried Nigeria’s continued inability to refine fuel for local consumption.

 According to him, much of the energy crisis that has led to increased cost of production would have been tackled if the government had been alive to their responsibilities.

As part of its commitment to providing optimum banking experience, Ecobank Nigeria has shared updates to serve its clients better regarding retail foreign exchange transactions for international school fees, accommodation, and upkeep payments, as well as PTA/BTA requests.

The Head, Consumer Banking, Ecobank, a Korede Demola-Adeniyi in a signed statement said “Due to current market trends, we require a 30-day window to complete requests for school fees, accommodation, and upkeep, stating that part of the process involves a review of all documents to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.

The statement added that “In order to ensure smooth service and allow disbursement of PTA/BTA within the timeline, we request that applications are submitted with the required documentation.”

For PTA/BTA, the requirements include duly completed Form A; duly confirmed return ticket; Nigerian passport bio-data page; letter of authority to debit account; valid visa to destination country and account should have been opened and operational for at least 6 months

In addition to the above, the bank requires the following for BTA requests; letter of invitation from the overseas partner, letter of introduction from the company stating the employee going on the business trip and certificate of incorporation

For School fees, upkeep and others, “we require duly completed Form A; students valid Nigerian passport bio-data page; letter of admission for course/programme; recent school bill; students valid visa/residence/study permit (for returning students); bank/remittance details of the school; photocopy of 1st degree (in the case of post graduate studies); evidence of relationship if fees are paid by a 3rd party and letter of authority to debit your account, among others.

Chairman, HRG (Nigeria) and travel management consultant, Mr. Femi Adefope, has described aviation in Nigeria and, by extension, airline business in Nigeria and other places, as prone to losses, saying that Nigeria is a tough country to do such capital intensive business.

Adefope, who spoke to New Telegraph at the APG IET DAY in Lagos at the weekend, noted that the carriers were using largely imported products, even with uniforms, adding that if the uniforms were properly made, they are supposed to be fire retardant uniforms, which are not manufactured locally.

He reiterated that the sector was being subsidised, even with deregulation of the industry like the subsidy in the petroleum downstream sector. He expressed the concern that many airlines were operating in Nigeria today because of a lack of proper feasibility study and based on the perceived success of other airlines.

His words: “People are not doing proper feasibility studies before they venture into the airline business.

Again, when you go to borrow large sums of money, the interest rate is a lot. “I am not querying how people put funds together; there should be more cooperation between airlines. There should be a local clearinghouse, but because people don’t trust each  eraother, you can’t enforce anything, because you do not have a national identification card system here and that is one of the biggest drawbacks we have here.

“People do certain things for the wrong reasons with government not obliged to subsidise Jet fuel because these things are paid for in foreign currency and that is why foreign airlines are not complaining because that is part of their costs because that is how they pay anyway. If you look at our business set up, a lot of people are going into airline business without proper business plans,” he stated.

Many of the country’s airlines lack corporate governance coupled with lots of greed just as over-taxation has equally been attributed to many factors bedeviling airline operations in the country.

Adefope admitted that the travel industry had, to a large extent, recovered 70 per cent from the pre-COVID-19 era, stressing that business travel was the slowest to recover for obvious reasons.

“So far, to a large extent, the industry has recovered. We are about 70 per cent of where we were in 2019. Business travel was the slowest to recover for obvious reasons. Technically, we are still in the pandemic because the World Health Organisation (WHO) has not declared the pandemic ended because of the implications on employees but tourism has picked up.

“If you go to Dubai today, you will see so many Nigerians there. You will think that we have all relocated. People are itching to go on holiday because it helps everybody mentally. That has helped to jumpstart the travel business. We are hoping that business travel would start which would be slowed down during the elections. We hope that things will work out well,” he noted.

African airlines seem to be re turning to profitability. The last three years were excruciating for airlines and the travel industry. It was a crisis that ‘crumbled’ literally the entire global travel industry. But since the relaxation of COVID-19 rules, airlines and the travel trade operators have dusted themselves up by posting fantastic financial results.

Although the carriers are not yet back to their pre-COVID-19 state, they have, however, shown remarkable signs to bounce back. Nigerian carriers are not doing too badly despite a very poor economy. With the high airfare introduced in the wake of the astronomical cost of Jet A1 and the harsh economic situation, they have been able to remain afloat, although they are not out of the woods yet.

BY  Oyetunji Abioye

The approach lights on the runway of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, have gone off, forcing pilots to depend solely on equipment onboard their aircraft to land, findings by The PUNCH have revealed.

An approach lighting system is a lighting system installed on the approach end of an airport runway and consisting of a series of light-bars, strobe lights, or a combination of the two that extends outward from the runway end, according to Wikipedia.  It is a lighting system that assists the pilot/aircraft to come in and land safely.

Impeccable airport sources said the approach lights collapsed on Monday evening and pilots were subsequently forced to rely solely on their onboard equipment to land airplanes.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak on the matter, said it was sad that the relevant aviation authorities did not issue a Notice to Airmen on the development until later on Tuesday.

A copy of the NOTAM which was sighted by The PUNCH showed that the document was issued by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency’s Aeronautical Information Services department.

The NOTAM, dated May 31, 2022, was signed by one Abah G.N, an official of the airspace agency.

As of 10:30pm on Tuesday, it was uncertain when the problem would be fixed.

The Acting General Manager, Public Affairs, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Mrs Faithful Hope-Ivbaze, asked our correspondent to send a text message when she was contacted on the development.

A response to the text message sent by The PUNCH to her was still being expected as of the time of filing this report.

A pilot with one of the domestic airlines, who chose to speak on condition of anonymity on the matter, said the collapse of the approach light could inhibit pilots’ capability to land airplanes safely in bad weather.

According to him, the approach lights assist pilots in landing on the runway.

“It is sad that the relevant authorities are just issuing NOTAM on the development over 24 hours after the light collapsed. That is very dangerous. This is very annoying,” the pilot said.

A pilot and President, National Association of Private Aircraft Owners, Mr Alex Nwuba, said there was no reason to panick over the development but stressed that there an urgent need for the authorities to fix the lights as soon as possible.

Last year, some parts of the runway lights at the MMIA collapsed, forcing British Airways to divert its flight to the Abuja airport.

The development then forced the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, the aviation industry regulator, to downgrade the landing procedure at the Lagos airport from Category Two to Category One.

BA passengers whose flight was diverted to the Federal Capital Territory were forced to pass a night in Abuja before being flown back to Lagos.

The unserviceable state of the runway lights made it impossible for BA, which flies a large plane, to land at the Lagos airport at night. Other foreign airlines with relatively smaller planes can land.

Also, last week, the international wing of the MMIA was temporarily shut after the mangled body of a dead man was found on Runway 18R of the nation’s flagship airport.

During the temporary shutdown of the runway, international flights were prevented from landing and taking off from the airport’s international terminal.

Among the flights that could not land due to the shutdown was an Ethiopian Airlines flight 3907, a Boeing 77F aircraft with registration number ETAVN, which was coming from Lome, Togo to Lagos, Nigeria.

The flight was later diverted back to Lome after holding for a while.

Airport officials said the corpse was suddenly found on Runway 18R during a routine runway inspection by FAAN personnel.

As of the time of filing this report, FAAN had yet to confirm the identity of the corpse.