Travel News

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has said the current fuel scarcity in Abuja and other states in the North is...

By Abdullateef Aliyu

Airline operators in the country are set to heave a sigh of relief as the Federal Government is set to inaugurate the AirField Lighting for the domestic runway (18L) of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.

Gombe unveils revenue tribunal for tax defaulters

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Daily Trust reports that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had shut down the runway since July 8 for the installation of the runway lighting.

The runway 18L/36R had been without the AFL for the past 13 years amidst grumbling from airline operators as evening flights land at the international wing before taxiing to the domestic. 

Managing Director of FAAN, Capt. Rabiu Yadudu about three weeks ago said the project is 90 percent completed. 

President of Aircraft Pilots and Owners Association, Dr. Alex Nwuba said the installation would enable airlines to save billions in cost of operation. 

He said, “It reduces waiting times in approach and landing, improves departure times both of which will reduce cost of operation, given the additional time in ground to 18R.  It will improve operating hours with reduced taxi times.”

Aviation analyst, Mr. Olumide Ohunayo said the completion of the domestic runway would “relieve everyone not only the airlines even the Air Traffic Controllers, their stress would be reduced because they now have two runways and can easily depart and give start up to aircraft and clear them for landing easily and more frequently. That is for ATCs.” 

Aviation consultant, Babatunde Adeniji observed that reducing the taxiing time for aircraft on ground would help a great deal in saving cost of operation. 

“The load factor can increase as a result with the increased flexibility to time and operate more flights to meet passenger demand. Hopefully the yield will improve as they exploit these situations maximally.”

(Bloomberg) -- Ireland’s energy shortage will last until 2031, with unplanned outages making an bad situation even worse in the near term, the nation’s grid operator said. 

Power plant capacity remains poor and Eirgrid assumes that some generators that were due to shut in September next year won’t be available at all, the firm said Thursday in a capacity report covering Ireland and Northern Ireland. 

The island needs all the power it can get as the energy crisis is raging in Europe. Demand is forecast to increase by 37% by 2031, with 28% of that coming from data centers and other new large energy users. At the same time, most new capacity that was expected online over the coming years has been withdrawn, according to the report. 

“The number of system alerts will increase as our economy grows, electricity generators exit the market and demand increases, with significant new additional demand from the heat and transport sectors as they are electrified,” EirGrid Chief Executive Officer Mark Foley said. 

While the prospect of blackouts this winter cannot be ruled out this winter, “it will take an extraordinary confluence of events for the lights to go out,” Foley said on national broadcaster RTE on Thursday. 

To mitigate the shortage, the regulator plans to hold capacity auctions of flexible gas-fired generation capacity, procuring 700 megawatts of emergency generation, temporarily extending the operation of older generators, and introducing tariffs to reduce demand at peak times.

Eirgrid has had “very good engagement” with large energy users and has “absolute confidence” that they can make their own back-up generation available to keep the grid stable if needed, Foley said.

(Updates with comments from Foley from fifth paragraph.)

…NCAA yet to sanction airlines selling tickets in dollars

By Prince Okafor

Succour for travellers from Nigeria to foreign countries remains a far cry, as more foreign airlines introduce restrictive measures on their operations.

Restrictions such as selling of ticket in dollars, stoppage of ticket issuance originating outside Nigeria, reduction of inventories, among others.

The development is coming against the backdrop of over $456 million trapped funds belonging to foreign airlines.

Accordingly, most foreign airlines operating in the country have stopped receiving payment for air tickets in naira, which contravenes the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, directives.

The NCAA, had threatened to sanction any airline selling in dollar, but to date, no single airlineselling tickets in foreign currency have been sanctioned.

Aviation World gathered that foreign airlines collect Naira for their tickets to customers and exchange the same for foreign currencies for their operations. But recently they said they have been unable to do so through the official foreign exchange market due to the scarcity of foreign exchange in Nigeria.

Following the development, the Federal Government promised to release about $265 million of the over $456 million trapped funds to the airlines in August 2022.

However, findings by Vanguard Aviation World showed that only a few airlines have only received $133 million, representing 25 percent of the amount promised to date.

More airlines have introduced restrictions – NANTA

In a chat with Vanguard’s Aviation World, the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies, NANTA, President, Susan Akporiaye, lamented that the situation has gotten worse.

She said: “Some airlines that did not have any restrictions before now, have introduced more restrictions, making it more difficult for both travellers and travel agents.

“Qatar Airways, ASKY, Africa World Airlines, are the only airlines operating in the country without restriction on ticket purchases, both in Nigeria and their country.

“Ethiopian Airlines, along with a few other airlines have joined in placing restrictions for ticketing. “Currently, we cannot issue tickets originating outside Nigeria. Before now we could do Abuja to London but no more. “The foreign airlines have reduced inventories too. For instance, if the aircraft capacity is let’s say 250, they do not open all for travel agents. It’s either they open half or just 100.”

We didn’t increase any of our charges – FAAN

While there were insinuations that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, was responsible for the hike in foreign airlines ticket fares, the Authority has debunked the allegation.

A recent speculation noted that the authority charges stifle flight operations, as KLM, Lufthansa, Emirates, others increase airfares by 100 percent.

But in a swift reaction, FAAN’s Acting General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Faithful Hope-Ivbaze noted that with respect to reports making the rounds on social media, the authority would like to inform passengers and the general public that it did not increase any of its charges.

She said: “The charges being collected by FAAN are statutory, and therefore cannot be increased without the knowledge of our esteemed passengers and other airport users.

“While it is true that the cost of aviation fuel has gone astronomically high and has adversely affected airline operators worldwide, culminating in an increase in ticket fares, we want to reiterate that FAAN has not increased its charges. “We are mindful of the challenges of our esteemed passengers and other airport users as a result of the increase in airfares, hence the need not to do so.”

Local operators have capacity to fly Int’l routes – Obiora

Following the development, domestic operators have frowned over the recent restrictions introduced by foreign airlines, as they maintained that they cannot stand by to see foreign airlines exploiting travellers in the country.

According to the Chairman of United Nigeria Airlines, Obiora Okonkwo, “Why do foreign airlines charge so much? “In the aviation industry, one-hour flight fuel consumption is the same, the only difference is maybe different landing charges in London or Ghana, the rest is the same.

“I can assure you that if Air Peace goes to London today, Nigerians will fly to London with an Economy ticket of N500,000. Today the price is about N2 million, why should we pay such if they are converting from N450 to $1?

“We owe Nigerians this explanation. However, whatever is going on, this is a wake-up call that the local operators have to be supported as they have all it takes to operate internationally.

“Emirates have over $5 billion in support from their government. When we ask for support, it is not free, we pay back. American Airlines have equity of over $60 billion and a debt profile of $70 billion and those debts all come from government support.

“If the local airlines are supported, we can have the capacity that cannot be threatened globally. “The easiest flight to operate is a long haul. Short haul is even more difficult as it is stressful to both the aircraft and cabin crew.

“It is even easier to go to London, aviation is the same globally, you are audited by IOSA, IATA and that is, they prevented us and make us looks bad. They are also aware that our quality and regulatory standards are high. We get crews and captains coming to Nigeria and they fail our exams and we send them back.

“Captains come from abroad and we reduce them to first officer seat because they lack the quality. The only is that we are being outplayed politically, and I do not think our embassies oversee have this understanding of the politics of aviation.”

But, Akporiaye stated that there is a lot involved for local airlines to fly through the international space.

BY  Chinedu Eze

Despite the outrageous fares that foreign airlines charge Nigerian passengers, coupled with the economic hardship in the country, Nigeria still records high outbound flights, THISDAY investigation has revealed.

Some foreign airlines operating in Nigeria, who confirmed the development, said many citizens were still leaving the country adding that they recorded full load-factor in their outbound flights in recent times.

THISDAY findings revealed that it had become difficult to get seats at short notice from most of the foreign carriers that operate into Nigeria, even for economy class, which price has risen to average of N1.5 million to N2 million, depending on the airline and destination.

Travel agents told THISDAY that there are higher load on the outbound flights than inbound flights because many Nigerians who travelled do not have the intention to return.

A travel blogger, Dozie Uzo, told THISDAY that last week his sister travelled overseas with her children; that it was only her that had return ticket; her children had one-way ticket because they did not intend to return.

THISDAY learnt that many corporate organisations have lost their technical and professional staff to the exodus because there is loss of confidence in the nation’s economy.

They added that the fears that the 2023 general elections might not provide succour are also fuelling the exodus.

It was learnt that foreign carriers jerked up airfares because of their inability to repatriate their funds from Nigeria as a result of scarcity of foreign exchange.

Studies carried out recently by Business Travel Management (BTM), the all- in- one business travel platform, explained that normally, foreign airlines that serve Nigeria would sell their tickets in Naira and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would convert that income to dollars for remittance back to their headquarter locations.

However, currently, due to scarcity of foreign exchange in Nigeria, foreign airlines have the equivalent of over $450 million sitting in Nigeria that cannot be repatriated.

According to the studies, “The consequence of this for Nigerian travellers is that it will lead to lower airline frequencies to, from, and within Nigeria. Several international airlines such as Emirates, British Airways, Air France/KLM, Lufthansa and others have reduced their flight frequencies into Nigeria.

“This leads to higher fares since demand is outstripping supply on both domestic and international routes. Fare quotations are rarely available when the client calls back to book. BTM recommends that clients call (not email) to book only when the journey is approved for purchase and instant ticketing. As a result, airlines are adopting a very rigorous churning policy against agents that hold seats without ticketing and issuing Agency Debit Memos (ADMs) for those that do.”

The report further stated: “Consequently, seats cannot be held and as it is always the case, fares are not guaranteed until purchased. Aviation fuel is in short supply in Nigeria since it all must be imported, and importation is being hampered by the economic challenges described above. Fares fluctuate daily and pricing currently seen and available is relatively expensive.”

President of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), Susan Akporiaye, told THISDAY that there are more passengers on outbound flights than inbound because many Nigerians are leaving the country and they don’t intend to return in the foreseeable future.

According to her, Nigerians pay for the outrageous tickets because they don’t have choices than to send their children back to school; some even sell their assets, especially those who don’t intend to come back.

“Those who are leaving the country permanently and those who have their children abroad are the ones that can afford to buy the tickets, which are very expensive. Those travelling on holidays are no more going due to the expensive tickets, which is about N2 million for the economy class.

“We are hoping that this will end soon, I pray that this problem does not linger till next year. It will definitely end this year. It is not as bad as COVID-19 that was clouded in uncertainty. No one knew when it would end but, by 2021 hope rose, especially in Africa that the pandemic would ease off. We are not selling tickets like before but whatever profit you make inflation will diminish the value,” she said.

The immediate past NANTA President and the Group Managing Director, Finchglow Holdings, Mr. Bankole Bernard, said: “What Nigeria is going through now is brain drain because the Nigerian environment is no more conducive. People are leaving for more favourable environment and some with their entire family.”

According to him, “Most of those moving are the middle class. The middle class is the engine room of any country. The more they wait the more the currency becomes lower. These people have been offered safer environment to earn higher emoluments and some will allow you come with your family. I have lost 20 staff to the exodus. They left for Canada. If you are paying somebody N120, 000 the value of the money has slumped so it cannot buy what it used to buy.  We are import-oriented nation, what we are exporting is insignificant compared to the volume of our imports. So there is so much pressure on forex.”

He said that airlines were guided by two factors in their pricing. One is volume and the other is yield. In Nigeria they have created a scenario whereby they will make profit if they airlift 100 passengers (volume) and make the same profit if they airlift 20 passengers (yield) by increasing prices.

He said that the airlines do this by increasing the fares; so the 20 passengers share the fares of the 100 passengers. This explains why some of the airlines cut down their frequency to Nigeria but increased the fares by over 100 per cent and they fly out of Nigeria with full load with the outrageous fares.

THISDAY learnt that many travellers who wished to book flights, have since discovered that many of the airlines were fully booked, and they had to postpone their trip.

By Wole Oyebade

•Debuts with free tickets, low-cost fares

It was pomp in Lagos on Tuesday as a new scheduled carrier, ValueJet Airline, rolled out operations with some interesting packages to cheer up the troubled local travellers.

Smarting from the challenges of fare hike, the ­start-up – a hybrid model that combines features of low-cost and legacy carriers – offers local air travellers some of the cheapest airfares, beginning from Monday.

At the colourful unveiling, the airline said the venture targets some of other 95 per cent Nigerians that had never had opportunity to fly, either due to high fares or capacity.

And to mark its grand entry, the carrier is offering customers free tickets on its first set of flights.

Chairman of ValueJet, Adekunle Soname, said the company’s business model is poised towards ensuring that Nigerians have access to affordable flights through competitive pricing.

Soname said: “Our mission is to reinvent air travel with our unique value proposition of safety, comfort, convenience, experience, and high value for money. We are pleased to be able to make air travel more affordable to everyone, underlined by our payoff line, ‘Wings for Everyone’.

“ValueJet is hardly a stranger in the industry, and all operational insights from previous partnerships have been applied in building our business plan and propositions. We have identified a niche in the sector, the need for fair pricing amidst the rising cost of commercial aviation to the average customer, compounded by tough economic realities for air operators. Tough times are for us to get even tougher.” The airline hinted that customers who book round trips between October 4 and 9 would have their first flight free on ValueJet. However, this offer is only valid for flights between October 10 and November 9, 2022.

At the moment, the airline operates to and fro Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Asaba airports. Expanded operations before the month’s end will cover Warri, Benin, Yola, Jos and Owerri.

“Our fleet of modern and efficient CRJ 900 aircraft is ready. We can boast of a resolute professional workforce, which is among the best in the industry to deliver end-to-end customer experience backed by modern technology.

“With a long-term vision and growth mindset, we have set our sights on the coming years to expand beyond the Nigerian airspace. We are in a privileged position despite existing economic headwinds. We are building a cost-conscious business with an understanding of the sector and how Nigeria is poised to play a key role in developing Africa’s aviation by joining the rest of the global players in regional and international markets,” Soname said.

The airline that was founded in 2018, lately took delivery of three CRJ900 jets, 5N-BXS, 5N-BXT and 5N-BXR, and concluded all required demo flights to earn the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) and Air Transport Licence (ATL).

Managing Director of ValueJet, Capt. Omololu Majekodunmi added that ValueJet was founded with a mission to make air travel affordable to everyone, and a vision to build a global airline, connecting people with places through modern air travel.

“Offering end-to-end customer experience backed by up-to-date technology, the airline is made up of dedicated and passionate people who are committed to providing the best-in-class service to its customers,” Majekodunmi said.
Chief Commercial Officer, Trevor Henry, who spoke on the airline’s initial route network, said ValueJet would on Monday start with a Lagos-Abuja flight twice daily in the interim, while Port Harcourt and Asaba will start with a flight daily. At full swing, the airline targets about 20 flights daily.

Local airline, Arik Air, is commemorating the eighth anniversary of its frequent flyer programme, Arik Affinity Wings, offering discounted airfares to loyal customers.

Spokesperson of the airline, Banji Ola, said that registered and intending members of the programme have the opportunity to travel more and pay less by taking advantage of the anniversary promotion.

Existing members will enjoy a 20 per cent discount on any flight booked between October 1 and October 31, 2022, while new members will be welcomed into the Affinity Wings family with a 15 per cent discount on flights booked within the same period.

Chief Executive Officer of Arik Air, Capt. Roy Ilegbodu, said Arik Air was proud to achieve the milestone with its esteemed customers despite the odds.

Ilegbodu said: “These offers are unique due to the timing, as we are using this promotion to celebrate our valued customers this season. It’s the month of Nigeria’s independence and also the 2022 customer service week. We cherish the patronage of our customers, and this is our way of showing appreciation.”

The Arik Affinity Wings was launched in October 2014. There are currently over 150,000 members earning and spending miles on the platform.

Many Nigerians say getting a passport is now cumbersome due to corruption and government inefficiency.

By Pelumi Salako

Ilorin, Nigeria — In September 2021, when Akpos Malafakumo walked into the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) office in Yenagoa, Bayelsa, to apply for a new passport, she had no idea it would take 10 months to get it.

After filling the forms, an officer there told her to pay 70,000 naira ($175) for an expedited passport or wait six weeks – like others. “Six weeks sounded like a reasonable time to me so I paid 45,000 naira [$113] because I was not in a hurry to get the passport,” the 25-year-old told Al Jazeera.

It was not until mid-November that Malafakumo was called in for biometric capturing. Six weeks later, when she had still not been notified that the passport was ready, she went to the office to complain in December 2021.

“I was getting worried already … because I was applying for a graduate school outside the country and most of the applications needed my passport number,” she said.

In 2017, the NIS banned cash payments ostensibly to make the process of getting or renewing passports nationwide as efficient as possible and phase out middlemen. Two years later, it introduced e-passports to curb forgery.

But citizens say these measures have instead worsened the situation at immigration offices within Nigeria and abroad and left a long line of people waiting for passports to be issued.

Nigeria does not produce its own passport booklets despite owning a minting and printing company. And immigration officials have been repeatedly accused of bribery and corruption – hoarding booklets and introducing arbitrary charges to line their pockets.

“Nigeria is this interesting test case where the application of technology to the delivery of government services often worsens the experience for citizens and taxpayers rather than enhancing or easing the process of accessing government services,” said Ikemesit Effiong, head of research at SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based geopolitical risk advisory firm.

‘The highest bidders’

Last year, Nigerian media reported that about 1.5 million Nigerians in Italy needed passports.

A 2021 survey by SBM Intelligence indicated that the international passport is the least owned government identification in the country because it was too stressful to obtain. Less than a tenth of the 6,954 respondents had it.

Meanwhile, a declining socioeconomic situation and increasing insecurity in the country have spurred an immigration wave and further increased the demand for passports.

• Lufthansa is banning activated AirTags from passengers' luggage, per German media.

• The airline said the tags were classed as "dangerous goods" and needed to be turned off.

• Travellers turned to trackers amid a summer of chaotic scenes at airports and lost luggage.

Lufthansa is telling passengers to switch off tracking devices placed in their luggage, rendering the hardware useless in keeping track of bags.

Local publication WirtschaftsWoche first reported in August that the German airline was treating the tags, such as Apple's AirTag, as an electronic device like phones and laptops, indicating their batteries would need to be removed prior to flying as they were "dangerous goods."

This would make it impossible to keep track of the tag or luggage during a journey.

"Baggage trackers belong to the category of portable electronic devices and are therefore subject to the dangerous goods regulations for carriage in airplanes issued by the International Civil Aviation Organization," a Lufthansa spokesperson told WirtschaftsWoche.

"Accordingly, due to their transmission function, the trackers must be used similarly to cell phones, laptops, tablets, etc. during the flight if they are in checked baggage."

Air tracking hardware like the Apple AirTag became a saving grace for passengers during a summer of travel chaos where thousands of bags were lost.

Some passengers were even able to use data from their tags to contradict airlines' claims about where their luggage was located, while an Apple AirTag helped track a lost bag to an airline worker's home, who was subsequently charged with theft.

A spokesperson for Berlin Brandenburg Airport told local publication Watson in a statement that the airport did not have a ban on trackers like AirTags, and that they typically would not be removed from luggage.

The spokesperson added, however, that the airport abided by the guidelines of each of its airlines, suggesting active trackers found in bags destined for a Lufthansa flight could be removed.

"Basically, my colleagues deal with the baggage act according to the specifications of the airlines. Because [airlines basically decide] what is and is not allowed on board their planes," the spokesperson said.

Lufthansa didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment made outside normal working hours.

The Federal Government has alerted Nigerians on Ethiopia’s new visa regime.

According to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday, the Ethiopian government had suspended issuance of “visa on arrival” to non-resident foreigners at all points of entry into the country.

The statement, which was signed by the Ministry’s spokesperson, Francisa Omayuli, explained that  the measure by the Ethiopian authorities was aimed at better border control of movement of persons into Ethiopia in view of the ongoing armed conflict in the Northern part of the country.

“The measure is said to be temporary, pending improvement in the security situation in the country and not a replacement of Ethiopia’s open visa policy,” the statement read.

Advising Nigerians on the next step to take, the FG stated “Therefore, Nigerians bearing Standard Passports intending to travel to Ethiopia are by this notification advised to obtain appropriate entry visas at the Ethiopian Embassy or an electronic visa through the country’s Immigration and Citizenship Service portal at www.evisa.gov.et

“Also, those transiting through Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to other destinations or intend to briefly stop over would require valid entry visa to enable them access hotel facilities in the city or else would be obligated to remain in the airport pending their connecting flight.”

The statement added, “The new temporary visa restriction measure came into effect on 29th September, 2022.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will liaise with the Nigeria Immigration Service and relevant Airlines to ensure that intending Nigerian travellers enroute Ethiopia are well sensitised.”