Travel News

By Olasunkanmi Akinlotan

Air Sierra Leone, has resumed its scheduled flight operations between Lagos and Freetown after over 15 years of inactiveness.

Air Sierra Leone returned to Nigeria in partnership with a Nigerian airline, XEJet.

While XEjet provides technical support to the airline, it also provides three operational aircraft for the airline to return to the country.

While speaking with journalists at the sideline of the inaugural flight ceremony, on Wednesday, at the Lagos airport, Air Sierra Leone General Manager, Edgard Lacle, expressed joy for the return of the airline to the country.

Lacle told journalists that the airline has secured permission to operate in the country three times weekly; on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Promising that the schedule will be increased as the number of passengers increases.

For the inaugural flight to Lagos, the airline boss said its aircraft conveyed 36 passengers into the country.

He said, “The connection between Sierra Leone and Nigeria is strong, especially in terms of trade and we have a market and everybody is trying to part in that market.

“The trade is top, tourism is part of it and the connection between Sierra Leone and Nigeria.

“The partnership is a technical one and they provide aircraft. The aircraft suits the market and movement of passengers. The moment we see the market changes we will adjust.”

Also speaking the Chief Executive Officer of XEJET, Iza Emmanuel, describes the event as a rebirth of the Air Sierra Leo in Nigeria. He added that the airline was created as a beacon of hope, progress, and resilience for Sierra Leone.

He said “After over 15 years, the Sierra Leonean flag again takes to the skies. To our dignitaries and guests from Sierra Leone and Nigeria, your presence here today is a testament to the strong bonds of friendship and cooperation that unite our nations. It is also a reflection of the shared vision of growth, connectivity, and opportunity for our people. We are truly honored to have you join us in celebrating this remarkable milestone.”

Turkey’s national flag carrier on Thursday said that it has resumed flights to the Syrian capital Damascus after a break of nearly 13 years, state news agency Anadolu reported.

Anadolu reported that a plane with 349 passengers took off from Istanbul International Airport for Damascus on Thursday morning in first such flight since April 2012.

Turkey has taken in the most refugees from Syria in the world at around 3 million, according to official figures.

Many Syrians are returning to their home country for the first time since the fall of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad in early December, Anadolu reported.

Pictures showed travellers boarding the plane with the Syrian flag slung around their shoulders.

“I feel like I’m in a dream,” Anadolu quoted passenger Ahmet Kiraz as saying. Living in Turkey since 2012, he had lost hope that he would ever be able to return to Syria, Kiraz added.

Turkish Airlines had suspended direct flights to the neighbouring country in the wake of the civil war that began in 2011.

The airline had previously announced that it was planning three flights a week to Damascus.

A company spokesman said details would be announced later in the day.

BY Abdullahi Olesin 

The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) on Friday said only 6,000 consultants are left in the country.

The president of the association, Prof. Muhammad Mohammad, disclosed this during the association’s National Executive Council (NEC) Meeting in Ilorin, Kwara State.

The meeting was themed, “Policy Making for Quality Healthcare Services: Engaging Policy Makers for Quality Healthcare Delivery”.

Mohammad explained that 6,000 consultants remain as of February 2024, lamenting that data showed that about 1,300 consultants left country in the last five years. 

He lamented that the number of the consultants will continue to dwindle as the retirement age for medical consultants is 60 years.

“About 1,700 consultants are above 55 years of age.This means that in the next five years, they are going to leave the services for retirement,” he said. 

Mohammed emphasised that the number of consultants would continue to reduce, as long as the country produces only one or two per annum. 

“So you can see that the replacement cannot keep up with the loss from ‘Japa’ syndrome and from retirement,” he said.

Mohammad appealed to the government at all tiers to ensure medical lecturers are placed on the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) to address the disparities in their emoluments and temptation to embrace the ‘japa’ syndrome. 

The Kwara State’s Commissioner for Health, Dr Amina El-Imam, said the theme of the NEC meeting was apt, noting that appropriate policies were critical to assist the government in delivering quality healthcare to citizens.

The guest speaker, Dr Amos Magaji, the lawmaker representing Zangon Kataf/Jaba Federal Constituency of Kaduna State in the National Assembly, underscored the importance of policy making in healthcare delivery.

Similarly, Prof. Tanimola Akande, a public health consultant at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), advised doctors to focus on their health and well-being.

He underscored the need for self-care, regular and comprehensive examinations and exercise.

Earlier, the chairman of the local organising committee of MDCAN-NEC meeting, Prof Kazeem Ibrahim said innumerable policies have been formulated in the past without significant impact on the health of many vulnerable citizens.

Ibrahim noted that the meeting would proffer solutions to the challenges, as well as the ‘japa’ syndrome, pushing health workers to migrate from the country due to abysmal working conditions.

The Federal Government, through the Central Results Delivery Coordination Unit, has urged the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority to revisit a draft policy proposing stricter sanctions on airlines for the increasing number of flight delays and cancellations across the country.

The Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination and head of the CRDCU, Hadiza Bala-Usman, made this recommendation during a performance assessment meeting held at the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development in Abuja on Wednesday.

The meeting was part of the ongoing review of the Q1–Q3 2024 Performance Assessment Report on the implementation of Presidential Priorities and Ministerial Deliverables.

Details of the meeting were shared in a post on the CRDCU’s X (formerly Twitter) handle on Tuesday.

Bala-Usman emphasised the need for stronger measures to safeguard passengers from the inconveniences and financial losses caused by frequent flight disruptions.

She highlighted shortcomings in the Ministry’s stakeholder and customer engagement processes, noting that incomplete data on service delivery and complaints resolution hindered an accurate, independent assessment of progress.

The report noted: “She described this as critical given the increasing number of flight delays and cancellations and the impact on affected passengers.

“She further recommended revising the current target of 224 days for resolving customer complaints, stating that it urgently requires recalibration to align with global best practices.”

Bala-Usman also called for a review of the timeline to ensure quicker and more effective dispute resolution for passengers.

In response, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, commended the CRDCU for its diligence and pledged to address the identified challenges.

Keyamo assured that his Ministry would intensify efforts to improve service delivery and uphold the highest standards in Nigeria’s aviation sector.

By Mary Schlangenstein

The US National Transportation Safety Board is investigating a United Airlines Holdings Inc. flight that turned back to Nigeria after a “sudden aircraft movement” occurred, injuring passengers and crew.

Flight 613, Boeing Co. 787-8, was enroute from Lagos, Nigeria, to Washington Dulles International Airport on Jan. 24 when the movement occurred, forcing the flight to return, the NTSB said Monday in a post on social media platform X. United on Friday described the problem as a “technical issue,” and said the flight did not involve severe turbulence.

By Olasunkanmi Akinlotan

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority says Air Peace and Aero contractors refunded the airfares of thousands of passengers running into several millions of naira in 2024 due to cancelled and delayed flights.

The regulator stated that while Air Peace compensated 1,901 passengers in November 2024 for flight delays, cancellations, and cabin class downgrades, Aero Contractors compensated over 20 passengers throughout the year under review.

The NCAA disclosed this in a report posted on its X handle on Monday and signed by the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu.

The report stated that business class downgrades accounted for the largest percentage of compensation for Air Peace, costing the airline a 65 per cent discount to each of the affected passengers.

It said Air Peace also compensated passengers for unscheduled maintenance, technical issues, operational reasons, and aircraft swaps, among others.

On November 16, 2024, the agency said the airline recorded the highest passenger traffic (pax load) of 129 on flight 7170 from Lagos to Benin City, implementing a 25 per cent discount for operational issues.

A similar compensation was made on November 4, 2024, to 117 passengers on flight 7425 scheduled to fly from Kano to Abuja.

Air Peace had increased airfares on all local routes by over 100 per cent in November 2024, after the airline commenced its Lagos-London flight services.

Speaking with our correspondent, Achimugu promised to provide more information as further details unfold, saying the NCAA decided to put out the figures to confirm to passengers and industry stakeholders that airlines do pay compensations in Nigeria.

He further said publishing the compensations was for the NCAA to blow its own trumpet about the work it is doing.

He said, “This is to the CRDCU (Central Result Delivery Coordination Unit) headed by Hadiza Bala Usman because they have to assess the work that we do. We have found out that people think the compensations that we talk about are not authentic.

“That is why we are putting facts and figures together. It is an attempt by the NCAA to be transparent and also to make the public as well as other instrumentality of government aware of this. This will also let stakeholders know that the NCAA is working and airlines in Nigeria actually pay compensation.

“People come online to make viral videos but when the NCAA resolves those issues, they don’t come back to say this particular issue has been resolved. So we would start blowing our own trumpets now and that is what we are doing.”

Summary

• Finance minister Reeves outlines plans for growth
• Government supports long-delayed Heathrow runway plan
• She highlights home-building, transport links, reservoirs
• Says growth 'won't come without a fight'
• Recent jump in borrowing costs exposed UK vulnerability

EYNSHAM, England, Jan 29 (Reuters) - British finance minister Rachel Reeves gave the government's backing to a long-delayed new runway at London's Heathrow Airport on Wednesday as the centrepiece of her plan to speed up the country's sluggish economy.
Reeves, under pressure to address concerns about growth after a bond market selloff this month, also listed plans for new wind farms and reservoirs and a "growth corridor" between the university cities of Oxford and Cambridge.

The Federal Government, through the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, has announced the suspension of operations by Max Air following Tuesday night’s incident involving the airline’s aircraft in Kano.

It also announced on Wednesday that it had commenced organisational risk profiles for each scheduled airline, including Max Air, adding that the exercise was nearing conclusion.

The PUNCH reports that a Max Air B734 aircraft with registration mark 5N-MBD suffered a tyre burst on landing at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport on Tuesday night.

This would be the third incident in three months involving Max Air airplanes.

The 53 passengers in the aircraft disembarked unhurt and the aircraft was removed from the runway of the airport by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria.

Although the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau has commenced an investigation into the cause of the incident, the NCAA ordered that the airline be suspended for three months.

The NCAA in a statement said it will provide the required support to the NSIB in unraveling the cause of the incident.

The statement which was signed by the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, stated that, “It must be stated that the specific cause(s) of this incident can only be established after the NSIB has conducted its investigation.

“It is instructive to note that the NCAA had commenced organisational risk profiles for each scheduled operator, including Max Air, which is nearing its conclusion. However, as a result of this incident, Max Air is suspending its domestic flight operations for a period of three months with effect from midnight, January 31, 2025, to allow for an internal appraisal of its operations by its management.”

Achimugu stated that during the 90-day period, the NCAA will conduct a thorough safety and economic audit on Max Air.

“The safety audit will entail a re-inspection of Max Air’s organisation, procedures, personne, and aircraft as specified by Part 1.3.3.3(b) of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations, while the economic audit will critically examine the financial health of the airline to guarantee its capability to sustain safe flight operations.

“The resumption of Max Air’s domestic flight operations will be predicated on the satisfactory completion of this audit.

The NCAA is aware of the inconvenience this action may cause intending passengers of Max Air. However; the safety and well-being of passengers is paramount.

“Thus, the NCAA appeals for patience and understanding while it ensures the protection of passenger rights.”

Reacting to the development through a statement posted on its X handle, the management of the airline acknowledged the temporary suspension of operations, adding that the break would allow the company to carry out internal operational evaluation.

The airline also said regular updates will be provided through its website and verified social media channels.

The statement read partly, “The safety of our passengers and crew remains our highest priority and we believe this voluntary suspension will allow us to exceed industry standards and restore public confidence in our operations.

“All affected booked passengers during the suspension period are enjoined to receive full refunds or rebooking options with partner airlines. Our customer service team will be available to assist all the affected passengers. We are actively working with the aviation authorities during this period to ensure that every statutory requirement is met.

“In view of the foregoing, therefore, we deeply regret the temporary inconvenience this will cause our valued domestic customers. However, we believe this investment in safety and reliability will significantly enhance our service quality delivery for years to come.”