MAY 24, 2023

By Lilian Ukagwu

Foreign airlines operating in Nigeria raked in around $1.1bn in 2022 despite foreign exchange challenges, The PUNCH reports.

In a conversation with our correspondent on Monday, the Chairman of the Airlines and Passengers Joint Committee of the International Air Transport Association, Bankole Bernard, quoting a report, he stated that the $1.1bn revenue generated from travel in Nigeria is expected to continue thriving due to the high demand for travelling within the country. He expressed confidence that the figures will remain steady in the near future.

The PUNCH had reported that the Senate passed a resolution calling on the Central Bank of Nigeria to release $717,478,606 of airline funds that were trapped in the country.

The upper chamber also urged the CBN to allocate $25m to airlines operating in Nigeria at its fortnightly dollar auction.

Responding, Bernard stated that the Senate may not intervene, adding that the CBN had already shown disregard for the law by only complying with a court order to release the old notes.

“The CBN is not going to do anything. We find ourselves in any environment that is full of anarchy. Anarchy is a state of confusion where there is a total disregard for the law. It took the court to summon CBN to comply with even releasing the old notes, and you now think the Senate will talk to them and they will listen. Let’s be sincere with ourselves and stop fooling around,” he argued.

When asked if some of the affected airlines might withdraw their services as a result of the trapped funds, he said, “They cannot withdraw their service, unfortunately. They did not buy the aircraft for them to park. If they have somewhere more lucrative to take the aircraft to they will take it there. So, do not be deceived, it is because they still find our market viable irrespective of these challenges and that is the sincerity we must all face. Our market is viable that is why they are still coming. However, it does not mean that they do not have challenges.”

Bernard, who is also the Managing Director /CEO of Finchglow Holdings, disclosed that some of the airlines had started selling tickets in dollars, adding that the exchange rate for the conversion had gone up significantly.

“They have started selling in dollars. Not only are they selling in dollars, the exchange rate for the conversion has gone really high. It is 640/$, which is closer to the black market rate,” he said.

Also reacting, the spokesperson for foreign airlines in Nigeria, Kingsley Nwokoma, stated that unless the Nigerian government takes immediate action to repatriate the funds, airlines might be forced to leave the country.

Nwokoma emphasised that the demand for the repatriation of funds had been a long-standing issue among foreign airlines in Nigeria and the inability to access those funds had led to a significant impact on the airlines’ operations, profitability, and ultimately their willingness to continue operating in the country.

According to him, many airlines have currently either ceased operations due to the inability to repatriate their funds or cut down on the frequency of flights.

Nwokoma claimed that if the government does not immediately begin the process of repatriating the trapped funds, more airlines would leave the country.

Speaking on the possibility of the CBN to begin disbursement of the funds following Senate’s order, he said, “You will not see that happen with the limited days of this tenure because it has been a while the airlines have been clamouring for these funds and we have seen the consequence, airlines are leaving. More airlines are planning to leave if these funds are not repatriated.

“Before we start to talk about whether it will be in tranches or whatever mode, there has to be that willingness from the government to the airline. It has to say it has this amount of money, and it wants to make sure that everyone gets the money according to the BASA regulation. If any of the airlines have been called or there had been any mechanism to begin any disbursement, the airline would have made a statement.”

MAY 24, 2023

By Amarachi Okeh

The United Kingdom has put in place a law that will see Nigerian students, and others studying in the UK from bringing family as dependents except under specific circumstances.

This is as the UK government aims to bring immigration into the country which stands at about 1 million down.

Under the new rule, the UK will remove the permission for international students to switch out of the student route and into work routes before their studies have been completed to prevent misuse of the visa system.

Sky News also added that “there will also be a review of the maintenance requirement for students and dependents and a crackdown on “unscrupulous” education agents “who make use of inappropriate applications to sell immigration, not education”.

This change takes effect January 2024 to allow students starting courses in the UK time to plan to adapt to the new rules.

This new law comes after indications had emerged that the UK plans to put stricter laws in place to bring down the climbing number of immigrants into the country via studies.

In a written ministerial statement on Tuesday, Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, said recent immigration figures had shown an “unexpected rise” in the number of dependants coming to the UK alongside international students.

According to Braverman, the increase was made after the government made its commitment to lower net migration, the UK media house reported.

Braverman said while the government’s strategy around international education “plays an important part in supporting the economy”, it should “not be at the expense of our commitment to the public to lower overall migration”.

According to Sky News, Braverman said the package strikes the right balance between acting decisively on tackling net migration and protecting the economic benefits that students can bring to the UK.

A statement on the UK’s Home Office official site adds that the “New government restrictions to student visa routes will substantially cut net migration by restricting the ability for international students to bring family members on all but post-graduate research routes and banning people from using a student visa as a backdoor route to work in the UK.

“The ONS estimated that net migration was over 500,000 from June 2021 to June 2022. Although partly attributed to the rise in temporary factors, such as the UK’s Ukraine and Hong Kong schemes, last year almost half a million student visas were issued while the number of dependants of overseas students has increased by 750% since 2019, to 136,000 people.”

The Home Office also noted that this new rule is not at the expense of the government’s commitment to the public to lower overall migration and ensure that migration to the UK is highly skilled and provides the most benefit.

According to them, the proposal is aimed at allowing “the government to continue to meet its International Education Strategy commitments while making a tangible contribution to reducing net migration to sustainable levels. The government has also made clear that the terms of the graduate route remain unchanged.”

The Home Office also made it clear that “the proposals announced today do not detract from the success of the government’s International Education Strategy, including meeting the target to host 600,000 international higher education students studying in the UK each year by 2030, for two years running.”

Official statistics, which are due to be published this week, are expected to show that net migration has increased from 504,000 in the 12 months to June 2022 to more than 700,000 in the year to December, Sky News said.

According to data, foreign students brought 135,788 family members to Britain last year – nine times more than in 2019 while in 2022, 59,053 Nigerian students brought over 60,923 relatives.

MAY 25, 2023

(Bloomberg) -- Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. fired three flight attendants after a swift probe of recorded comments that went viral in China, showing crew members disparaging passengers who didn’t speak English.

The airline terminated the three just hours after initiating an investigation over allegations of discrimination. In a statement late Tuesday, Chief Executive Officer Ronald Lam apologized to the affected passengers and vowed “zero tolerance” for violations of company rules and standards.

A passenger on the Sunday flight from Chengdu to Hong Kong recorded audio of an attendant allegedly saying that if people couldn’t say “blanket” in English, they shouldn’t be able to have one. The comments are followed by laughter in the background. 

Authorities in Hong Kong, where Cathay is based, expressed “deep concern” to the carrier. “The incident is a serious breach of Hong Kong’s reputation for service excellence, long-standing values and ethical standards,” Lam Sai-Hung, Transport and Logistics secretary, said in a statement released late night. 

Cathay said earlier it had contacted passengers to investigate the incident. 

Bloomberg News wasn’t able to independently verify the audio file. A passenger who posted the clip on the social-media platform Xiaohongshu didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but in a subsequent post wrote that Cathay executives had called her to learn more about what happened on Flight 987. 

Cathay will ensure all employees respect passengers from all backgrounds and provide professional services in a uniform way, the carrier said in the statement. Lam will lead a review meant to prevent similar incidents from happening again. 

Weibo Views

The autonomous region’s government urged Cathay to complete its review as soon as possible and to make fundamental improvements to the company’s mechanisms and staff attitudes, according to the statement.

A hashtag about Cathay’s apology was one of the top-trending topics on Weibo, with more than 140 million views. 

The wrath of China’s so-called netizens over perceived slights has caused plenty of corporate damage over the years, with calls for boycotts of companies from Mercedes-Benz Group AG to Hennes & Mauritz AB.   

Cathay shares rose 0.7% on Tuesday in Hong Kong.

--With assistance from Linda Lew, Siddharth Philip and Jacob Gu.

(Updates with Hong Kong government response in fourth, eighth paragraphs.)

MAY 25, 2023

By Biodun Busari 

The United Kingdom announced on Tuesday that foreign students will not be allowed to bring their families – spouses, children and parents to the country.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said the restrictions will take place from January 2024.

She also said the ban is only for foreign undergraduate and postgraduate students on non-research courses.

The UK government gave reasons for this new restriction policy which are:

1. Rishi Sunak’s move to cut down migration

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has planned that one of the ways to revive the British economy is to cut down on migration. He, then, used this as a mechanism to cut down on immigrants moving to the UK.

2. Nigeria has the highest number of African students studying in UK

According to a UK education data group, Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), Nigeria is the third highest country with students studying in the UK after China and India. This also makes it the first in Africa.

3. Large number of foreigners relocating to UK are non-EU

The UK government is worried that the rise in migration has largely been driven by people coming to the UK from outside the EU – including 170,000. Sunak’s government said refugees and African and Asian migrants are resettling in the country.

4. To reduce number of Nigerians, others taking over British economy

The UK government is engaging in this cutting of migration to reduce the number of immigrants taking key sectors of its economy. Earlier this week, Braverman called for lower immigration and suggested more British people should be trained to do jobs commonly done by overseas workers, such as lorry driving and fruit picking.

MAY 25, 2023

Tarkwa Bay, in Nigeria's economic hub, has become a hotspot for young people seeking an escape from their daily grind.

Taking part in one of the first national surfing competitions in Nigeria, young men and women showed off their moves in front of friends watching from the shore.

The sport is still far from being as popular as it is in other African countries such as Senegal, South Africa or Morocco.

But 20-year-old Gabriel is determined to become "a champion".

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"Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next month, but I believe one day I will become a champion," he told AFP.

Children as young as six are already practising on small boards, looking up to the likes of Gabriel who says he has been surfing every day for seven years.

A fishing village only accessible by boat, Tarkwa Bay is one of the only leisure spots near Lagos, a city of some 20 million people.

On the weekend, wealthy Nigerians and foreigners come to its beach to relax, spending money that provides a lifeline for the local area.

But for many in this community with no school or hospital, surfing provides a welcome distraction -- and hope.

Evictions

Surfing has helped some recover from the mass evictions that were carried out by the Nigerian army in January 2020.

"They demolished all our houses, almost all the surfers' houses. They said that the problem is pipeline vandals," said Gabriel, referring to those who damage pipelines to steal and sell crude oil.

Despite being the world's sixth largest oil producer, the majority of Nigerians live in extreme poverty and some have turned to oil theft to survive.

The soldiers arrived on the beach with bulldozers, giving thousands of residents an hour to leave.

Three years later, rubble testifies to the violence of the forced evictions.

At the time, the military said the communities were directly or indirectly involved in the oil theft.

Residents have since then slowly returned to Tarkwa but the community has never fully recovered.

"We are just struggling -- struggling to have a shelter, to eat food, to have a good life," said Gabriel.

"We have been surfing hard... to just forget everything else."

Offers hope

Adewale Fawe, president of the Nigeria Surfing Federation, said the competition that took place last Sunday brought "something positive" to the lives of some of the neediest.

"With surfing, some of them that are hopeless, that have nothing to do, that are frustrated, are beginning to develop hope," Fawe said.

"It takes them away from bad criminality, it takes them away from drug abuse," he added.

His dream is to develop the sport in other parts of Nigeria, such as Bayelsa in the oil-rich Niger Delta where fishing communities are struggling in one of the world's most polluted areas due to decades of oil exploration.

And "who knows," said Fawe, "maybe one day compete in the Olympics."

The most talented surfers at Tarkwa are given surfboards by charities or brands and share them with the community, but more are needed.

"When we are not in the water, we give our boards to the pickin (children, in Pidgin English) for them to try," said Gabriel, who for the admiring younger surfers is already a champion.

MAY 25, 2023

(Bloomberg) -- Rwandan President Paul Kagame said his government remains committed to accepting asylum seekers deported from the UK, a plan that’s drawn criticism from human-rights groups and is being legally challenged. 

“For us to receive them and process them, working with the UK, we are ready,” Kagame said in an interview at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha on Tuesday. “UK has to be ready on their part.”

The UK’s Court of Appeal last month held a four-day hearing on challenges to the legality of the policy of flying asylum seekers arriving in Britain some 4,000 miles (6,437 kilometers) to the East African nation, and has yet to say when it will deliver its ruling. The United Nations Refugee Agency told the court the plan will expose the migrants to “serious harm” and was incompatible with the UK’s international obligations. 

While Rwanda has consistently had one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies and made strides in drawing foreign investment, Kagame’s administration has been criticized by advocacy groups for failing to respect human rights and repressing political opposition.

Kagame described the deal with the UK as a development partnership that would entail “resettling migrants who need to settle down” and give them “the freedom to do what they want to do in places that they are stable.”

The idea came about after Rwanda began accepting African refugees who were caught up in instability in Libya while en route to Europe in 2018. It’s also been explored by some European countries, Kagame said, without identifying them. 

MAY 25, 2023

(Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Lufthansa AG agreed to buy a stake in Italian carrier ITA Airways, allowing the German airline to expand in Europe’s third-largest aviation market while letting Rome rid itself of an asset that’s soaked up billions of euros in state support.

Lufthansa, the region’s biggest airline group, will invest €325 million ($349 million) via a capital increase for a 41% stake, with the Italian government contributing an additional €250 million, according to a statement by the airline. The company has the option to increase its stake or buy all of ITA outright, with the purchase price depending on certain financial metrics that need to be met. 

“A stronger ITA will invigorate competition in the Italian market,” Lufthansa Chief Executive Officer Carsten Spohr said in the statement. 

ITA and its predecessor, Alitalia SpA, have been a drag on state coffers for decades. Alitalia, which began flying two years after the end of World War II, officially ceased operations in 2021 and a scaled-back version, reborn as Italia Trasporto Aereo, or ITA, remained under government ownership.

The transaction continues a consolidation drive in the European aviation market that’s now built principally around three main groups: Lufthansa, Air France-KLM and IAG SA, the parent of British Airways and Iberia. Then there are low-cost carriers like Ryanair Holdings Plc, EasyJet Plc and Hungary’s Wizz Air Holdings Plc. A few airlines remain independent, including Portugal’s TAP and SAS AB in Scandinavia, with the latter is currently working through insolvency proceedings. 

Lufthansa plans to expand the fleet to 94 aircraft by 2027 from 71 now and increase the number of employees to 5,500 by then, it said in the release. ITA will become part of Lufthansa’s multi-hub strategy that will establish Rome as a major airport for the group, with a particular focus on long-haul traffic, according to the release. 

According to a business plan, revenue at ITA will rise to €4.1 billion in 2027 from €2.5 billion expected for this year. Lufthansa said the Italian government can sell its remaining stake in ITA “in the medium term if the agreed financial targets for net debt and EBITDA are achieved.”

For Lufthansa, the foray is a gamble on an Italian market that’s more competitive than the German carrier is accustomed to following the rapid expansion of low-cost operators. Chief Financial Officer Remco Steenbergen cautioned this month that it would take some time to make ITA profitable.

The deal is expected to receive intensive antitrust review from European Commission officials in Brussels.

Adding ITA expands Lufthansa’s stable of German, Swiss, Austrian and Belgian flag carriers. It will allow the company to optimize flight schedules on European routes, boosting yields.

(Updates second paragraph with financial details of transaction.)

MAY 27, 2023

(Bloomberg) -- British Airways Plc resumed its normal schedule after solving a technology issue that had led to two days of cancellations at the onset of an extended weekend across the UK and much of Europe.

“We are operating as usual,” the airlineaid Saturday in an email. The carrier scrapped about 200 flights on Thursday and Friday, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. The cancellations affected more than 20,000 travelers, the Press Association reported, in one of the busiest travel weeks for the year. 

Travelers entering the UK still faced disruptions, though. Electronic gates for passport control weren’t operating at the nation’s airports. Heathrow Airport said on Twitter that it’s working with the border force to solve the issue. Cars and coaches headed to Dover faced delays as the port cleared a backlog caused by an earlier technology issue at the border control.

Airlines and airports have said they’re better prepared to handle a massive surge in bookings than they were a year ago, when a post-pandemic rebound overwhelmed the industry and led to thousands of canceled flights, misplaced luggage and long lines at airports from Heathrow to Amsterdam to Frankfurt.

 

MAY 27, 2023

Umza Aviation Services, in partnership with Aero Contractors, one of the airlines approved by the Federal Government to transport Nigerians prospective pilgrims to Saudi Arabia has began operation on Friday in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the airline departed Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at 19:32 hours with 288 male and 175 female pilgrims, with 13 officials of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON).

The Nigerian hajj regulatory body had allocated no fewer than 8,033 prospective pilgrims to Aero Contractors to transport them to Saudi Arabia and back to Nigeria after the end of 2023 hajj rituals.

Addressing newsmen shortly after the flight took off, Alhaji Liman Mohammad, Head of Human Resources, Administration, Hajj and Umrah for the Umza Aviation and Officer, Coordinating 2023 Hajj for Aero Contractors, assured of a hitch-free operation.

” We bade for hajj and the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria allocated 8,033 pilgrims for us. They are the pilgrims of Nasarawa, Oyo, Adamawa and Taraba States.

He said: ” The operation is starting with the Nasarawa pilgrims at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, we have carried 463 passengers comprising Nasarawa pilgrims and officials of NAHCON.

” The aircraft is going and coming back immediately for the second flight. Continuously, that is how we will do the operation until we finish Nasarawa with six flight operations.

MAY 27, 2023

By Funmilayo Fabunmi

Domestic operators under the aegis of the Airline Operators of Nigeria have faulted plans by the outgoing Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, to launch the operations of Nigeria Air on Friday (today) despite a restraining court order on the controversial project.

As a result, AON lawyers have written a letter to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), asking him to stop the minister’s attempt to “circumvent the court orders on Friday being the last working day of this administration and possibly to cover up the various infractions of Nigerian laws ,among others.”

The local carriers also said they would sue the minister for contempt of court for planning to launch the carrier despite the court order stopping the project.

In the letter, signed by AON lawyers led by Abubakar Nuhu Ahmad of Nureini Jimoh Chambers titled, ‘Nigeria Air Project: Last Minute Planned Disobedience to Court Order And Deliberate Plan to Rubbish the Achievement of this Administration’ the local airlines said Sirika chose the last working day of the administration to bring in two aircraft in contravention of the court order on the project.

The local carriers therefore urged the President to stop the minister’s illegal action. AON noted that flying two aircraft in Nigeria Air livery ‘is a clever way to violate court orders.’

President Buhari was reminded that the suit was “filed to question the shady deals, deliberate infractions of the Nigerian laws and self enrichment/ corruption mainly by the ministry of aviation over Nigeria Air project.”

The Attorney General of the Federation, Inspector-General of Police, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Federal Ministry  of Aviation, were copied in the letter.

It read, “We are solicitors to Airline Operators of Nigeria (“Our Client”). Our client filed the above suit to question the shady deal, deliberate infraction of the Nigerian laws and self-enrichment, mainly against the Federal Ministry of Aviation over the Nigerian Air Project.

 “In the suit, the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos presided by Hon. Justice A.L Allagoa, in the above suit, granted Orders of interim and interlocutory injunctions, in the terms contained in the Order, restraining taking of any step in relation to the Nigeria Air project. Copy each of the Orders are enclosed as Annexures 1, 2 & 3.

“As your Excellency is well aware, the administration will hand over on Monday May 29, 2023 but the Honourable Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, is planning to circumvent the Court Orders on Friday 26th May, 2023 being the last working day of this administration and possibly to cover up the various infractions of Nigerian laws, amongst others.

” This was disclosed in the interview granted yesterday by the Hon. Minister to Channels Television and same has gone viral on social media. The Minister is planning to hurriedly bring in two (2) aircrafts and pretend that NigeriaAir has commenced operation.

“Aside moral justification for commercial operation after the Minister’s last day in office, it is a clever way to violate the court orders. This action has no regard to whether or not it will stain the record of this administration, whether or not it will cover for corrupt actions raised in the suit and deliberately meant to violate Court Orders for self-serving purposes.

“We therefore employ your Excellency to stop this action of the Minister of Aviation, ensure compliance with the terms of the order and avoid needless controversies on the action after your Excellency’s administration would have expired.

“Notwithstanding, our client will still pursue contempt action against the Minister personally whether or not he left office, for the promotion of the rule of law, protection of integrity of the court and in line with international best practices.”