Travel News

BY  Emma Featherstone

Portugal relies on British holidaymakers. We are the country’s biggest single visitor group: 2.5 million of us travelled to Portugal in 2019.

In 2020, arrivals from the UK have plummeted by up to 70 per cent. Since the UK advisory against non-essential travel first came into force in March, Britons have had just three weeks in which they could visit Portugal without having to quarantine on their return. 

The country needs unimpeded movement between the two nations more than ever. 

“[Our visitor numbers] went back 25 years, to the numbers of 1995, which is terrible, especially because we have 10 times the number of companies [in the tourism industry] that we had then,” explained Luis Araujo, president of the National Tourism Board of Portugal, told Telegraph Travel.

Given that Portugal’s Covid-19 infection rate is now sitting at 308.7 per 100,000 residents, it will have to rely, for the time-being, on the successful implementation of the UK Government’s ‘test to release’ scheme. This will see quarantine times for arrivals from countries without a travel corridor, such as Portugal, slashed from 14 days to five, with a negative test result. 

By next year’s peak summer tourist season there is a hope that the vaccine will have helped travel to return to somewhat normal. However, for Britons, a new barrier will apply: the end to the transition period.

A normal holiday in Europe will not require a visa, but a stay of more than 90 days will. Portugal, however, may offer us 180 days. This would please second home owners who have asked EU countries to match UK rules: after January 1, citizens of the EU, EEA and Switzerland who want to stay here for up to six months will not require a visa. 

“We’ll do whatever we can to continue to make Portugal attractive to British citizens for tourism or permanent residence,” Manuel Lobo Antunes, the Portuguese ambassador to the UK, told Telegraph Travel. 

“We have always said that we would like to have a situation that is as close as possible to the situation we had before Brexit.”

However, as it stands, the 180 days has not been approved and, from January, Britons who wish to stay in Portugal for more than three months will have to register as a resident in the country (and contend with the paperwork that entails).

“We want to continue to welcome UK citizens, as a country so open to tourism and foreign visitors, of course having those people with us on a more permanent basis is obviously an advantage and something that makes us proud.”

One way in which Portugal might ensure smooth holidays for Britons next year is through the installation of UK-only passport gates. After Brexit, we will not be permitted to use EU fast-track passport control and custom lanes, which is set to increase waiting times. 

It’s estimated that at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport the average time Britons spend at the passport control desk will increase from 25 seconds to 40-45 as a result of additional document checks.

Portugal has floated the idea of passport control lanes specifically for UK travellers. “It is an area that is [open to] reciprocity,” said Mr Labo Antunes. “We have to see what kind of [similar] facilities our British friends intend to extend to EU or Portuguese citizens.”

Another EU travel benefit that Britons will lose after January 1 is the use of the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). The EHIC provides access to the state medical care of any EU country at a reduced cost or, in many cases, free of charge.

Portugal was the first EU country to offer a suggestion for preserving some of this health coverage.

“We launched a programme between the private hospitals in Portugal, called the health passport, where any British citizen has access to private hospitals in Portugal at the same cost as any Portuguese,” explained Mr Araujo. 

Ten months after global restrictions on travel began, Portugal is feeling the strain of depleted tourism, particularly the loss of British visitors.

Roughly 10 per cent of Portugal’s working population is employed in tourism and hospitality, explained Mr Araujo, and around 40,000 jobs have been lost in those sectors.

He emphasized that hotels, restaurants and other travel and hospitality businesses are working to strict health and safety protocols. “We’re seeing 2021 with some optimism,” he added. February or March could bring a rebound in visitor numbers. 

A move away from quarantine and uncertainty towards testing will, initially, be vital to facilitate this. 

“We have been asking different Governments of different countries not to impose quarantines but to find alternative solutions for controlling the pandemic and that has been one of the big battles we’re fighting", said Mr Araujo

Welcoming back Britons, amid Covid and after the transition period, is among these struggles. Both Mr Lobo Antunes and Mr Araujo emphasise that Portugal will do all it can to ensure UK travellers can continue to enjoy trips to the country in 2021 and beyond.

BY  Lottie Gross

Ahead of me, a pair of black-and-white spaniels sniffed their way around luggage trolleys and legs in the queue for Air France’s bag drop. Behind me, a cluster of families were unpacking and repacking their suitcases – victims of the baggage allowance rules for their respective airlines. It felt almost like a normal morning in Heathrow’s Queen’s Terminal, aside from all the masks and Covid-era signage. 

It wasn’t normal, of course, as today marked the return of international leisure travel for people in England, who have been under the Government’s non-essential travel ban since November 5. With flights leaving for Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong and plenty more destinations, the world opened up again to travellers â€“ even those without a ‘reasonable excuse’ for leaving the country. But, despite this good news for eager holidaymakers and suffering travel businesses, there was little jubilation at Terminal 2 this morning, and certainly no sign of the mass exodus I saw on the last day before lockdown on November 4. 

A little over a month ago I came here to find people fizzing with excitement at escaping England’s impending lockdown. They were off to the Maldives, Spain and other exciting, sunnier climes, looking forward to freedoms abroad. Today, it was all a bit more subdued. The majority of passengers I spoke to were, rather than jetting off to exciting new places, simply going home. One couple were grateful to be returning to the Czech Republic in time for Christmas. Students were travelling back to China for their holidays. 

I met just one couple who were actual tourists, travelling for a little break away from the bleakness of Britain today (their words, not mine, though I think we can all relate). The pair, who asked not to be named, were trying to get to Cancun in Mexico for a two-week holiday. I found them huddled over their phones in Terminal 2’s Costa coffee shop, which reopened today for dine-in customers under the new Tier 2 rules. 

Their trip hadn’t got off to a good start: having booked a flight to Mexico that transits through Newark in New York State, they had been denied boarding passes at check-in. Only residents and green card holders can travel into or via certain areas of the US right now. 

“It’s ridiculous that we are sold these flights that we can’t board,” they told me, on hold to their travel agent, desperately seeking another route across the Atlantic. “It’s now a question of whether or not it’s worth an extra £1,400. We’re going for two weeks so it’s a decent amount of time, but it’s also a lot of money.” 

With lockdown lifted and tourists allowed to travel once again, the terminal building certainly seemed busier. There were more police officers on view (I didn’t see a single one on my pre-lockdown visits) and even a new one-way system in and out of Terminal 2, with signs demanding: “Passengers only beyond this point”. The airport was clearly anticipating a rise in activity, and on their lunch break, the crew for ITV’s Britain’s Busiest Airport told me it felt marginally more crowded compared with the last few weeks. 

But the numbers don’t necessarily reflect that. Sharing operations statistics from the British Airways schedule, a member of the airline’s cabin crew explained the airline hasn’t bolstered its departures by much – just 11 extra flights were scheduled for today and only 2,000 more passengers were anticipated to depart on BA planes compared with yesterday. “It’s partly down to the strikes,” he explained. “Some aircraft have been in storage [during this lockdown], so with ground staff striking at Heathrow yesterday, it’s going to be impossible to get those planes back in time.” 

He also said things are unlikely to look hugely different today because the lockdown travel ban hasn’t been properly enforced and more people seem to have flouted the rules. “It has been fairly busy compared with [the last lockdown], and I’m sure not all those people were travelling for essential purposes. I think some of them were tourists. I didn’t ask anybody, but some people just told me [they were going on holiday],” he said.

Throughout this morning, queues for bag drop and check-in waxed and waned as passengers arrived and disappeared through to security, and, finally, the couple hoping for some sunshine in Cancun rebooked and boarded their flight to Mexico, this time via Madrid. Here’s to hoping the Test to Release scheme is up and running by the time they return, otherwise they’ll be spending Christmas in confinement. 

BY  Simon Calder

Tough travel quarantine policies adopted by the UK and other high-infection countries in Europe have been branded as pointless by two leading authorities.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) have issued a joint report that concludes: “The prevalence of the new coronavirus among travellers is estimated to be lower than is the case for the general population.”

It says that in the current epidemiological situation across all European Union nations and the UK, “imported cases account for a very small proportion of all detected cases and are unlikely to significantly increase the rate of transmission”.

“In addition, the measures in place in aviation minimise the possibility of transmission during the air travel process.”

At present, visitors to the UK from the vast majority of countries are treated the same as contacts of coronavirus cases. They are required to self-isolate for two weeks, though later this month the time will reduce to five days if a Covid test proves negative.

But the report says: “Travellers should not be considered as a high-risk population, nor treated as contacts of Covid-19 cases, unless they had been in known contact with a confirmed positive case.

“In the current epidemiological situation, quarantine or systematic testing for [the virus] of air travellers is not recommended.”

The report also dismisses entry screening measures, such as temperature checks and health questionnaires, as ineffective – but says Passenger Locator Forms (PLFs) constitute “an important tool to facilitate prompt contact tracing in the destination country”.

The authors berate the absence of any consensus on health-protection measures, saying: “Lack of harmonisation and frequent, sometimes sudden, changes in national policies are causing confusion and having a deterrent effect on travel.”

The report makes it clear that aviation fuelled the spread of coronavirus in Europe, saying: “Travel-related virus introduction and tourism-related spread within the EU/EEA and the UK contributed substantially to the transmission across and within countries during the early phase of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

But in the first week of November 2020, it said: “Imported cases only accounted for less than one per cent of the total number of cases, with the vast majority of cases being locally acquired.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Transport, which administers the quarantine scheme, said: "“The government has made consistently clear it will take decisive action if necessary to contain the virus, including removing countries from the travel corridors list rapidly if the public health risk of people returning from a particular country without self-isolating becomes too high.

“Throughout the outbreak, all our decisions have been based on the best scientific evidence. Any emerging evidence is continually monitored and considered in the government’s policy making.”

• Maria Samir, Samir’s sister, said her brother was last contacted as he was about to move from Nigeria to Cameroon

CAIRO: Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said it was coordinating with Nigerian authorities to free two of its citizens after they were kidnapped by pirates.

According to media reports, Saad Shawky and Kyrolos Samir were taken while they were on board a cargo ship off the coast of Nigeria’s southernmost state of Bayelsa.

There are also three Lebanese, four Indians and a Cameroonian in the crew.

The ministry said it had contacted the Egyptian consulate in Abuja about the circumstances and with the latest updates, and that instructions had been issued “to communicate with all officials at the highest level to follow up on ensuring the safety of kidnapped Egyptians.”

Egyptian media reported the two men were on board a Lebanese cargo ship called “Milan-1” that was heading from Nigeria to Cameroon. They also said the ship was owned by a Lebanese national, Adnan El-Kot.

El-Kot said in statements that he had rented the ship to a man called Tavo Lawrence and that the vessel was raising the flag of Saint Kitts. He learned about the kidnapping last Thursday, receiving a call from a Thuraya mobile phone from the pirates who demanded a $1.5 million ransom to release the ship.

The ransom dropped to $300,000, and El-Kot explained that he had told the kidnappers that the ship had been rented to another person living in Nigeria after he made sure all the ship crew were safe.

Maria Samir, Samir’s sister, said her brother was last contacted as he was about to move from Nigeria to Cameroon.

She said in an interview that contact with him was lost a few hours after he moved from Nigeria, adding that it naturally happened due to being in the open seas. She was following up the ship’s route through an app that revealed the vessel had stopped in the middle of the sea and did not move.

She said her brother graduated from university a year ago and that it was his first job for six months. She added he was working on a ship on the Red Sea route and moved to work on board “Milan-1.”

Sherouk Shawky, who is Shawky’s sister, said: “My brother and his colleague Kyrolos Samir have been working together onboard the ship for two years and a half.”

She said her brother left Nigeria en route to Cameroon and they had last contacted each other last Wednesday.

She added: “By Saturday, as he didn't contact us, we became extremely worried about him since the route from Nigeria to Cameroon is only two days. So we contacted Adnan El-Kot, the ship owner, who told us that pirates from Nigeria kidnapped the ship's 10-member crew, which includes officers, engineers and cooks. He said the pirates kidnapped 10 crew members and left one to inform Adnan of the kidnapping.

BY Harry S. Johnson

Heathrow has announced it is exploring a proposal to implement a Forecourt Access Charge (FAC) for vehicles in late 2021 to prevent a car led airport recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The charge, expected to be around £5, is part of several revisions to the airport’s surface access plan as a result of the near collapse in passenger numbers and £1.5 billion losses incurred in 2020. 

COVID-19 has sent shock waves through the aviation sector. As a result, Heathrow has reviewed all its planned investments which were committed when over 80m passengers were using the airport annually.  

This review has led to changes which recalibrate the airport’s spending on surface access projects so that environmental impacts will continue to be reduced, whilst the business and colleague jobs are protected during this time with fewer passengers. 

Heathrow expects fewer cars on the road due to reduced passenger demand, but concerns around using public transport due to the pandemic present a new challenge moving forward. Responding to this, the FAC will replace plans for a Heathrow Ultra Low Emissions Zone (HULEZ) announced in May 2019, although future emissions reductions schemes could be considered. 

The revised plan ensures Heathrow remains able to meet its long-term public transport goals and, other measures, including HULEZ, can still be implemented if needed. 

Revenue raised through the FAC will be used to offset airport costs, including future sustainable transport investments, as well as lowering the charges for passengers.  

Consultation has begun with stakeholders around the details of Heathrow’s new proposal, including how the FAC will be administered, with details expected to be finalised in 2021. 

The Forecourt Access Charge will apply to all vehicles entering the forecourts of Heathrow’s terminals, although some exceptions will apply such as blue badge holders and emergency vehicles. The full list of exemptions has yet to be finalised. 

Passengers already have the alternative option of being dropped off in our long stay car parks today and travelling to terminals via a free shuttle bus. 

Heathrow Director of Surface Access Tony Caccavone said: 

“The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have been severe, especially on the aviation industry with Heathrow passenger numbers down over 80% and the business losing £5m a day. These changes will help us to protect the business financially and save jobs in the short term, whilst also allowing us to stay on track for our long-term goals of providing safe, sustainable and affordable transport options into the future.” 

BY  Qin Xie

Business travellers, journalists and elite sports personalities will be among those exempt from the government’s 14-day quarantine restrictions from 5 December.

At the moment, anyone returning from a destination that’s not on the government’s travel corridors list is subject to a mandatory 14-day self-isolation.

Even those transiting through a country that’s not on the travel corridors list will be subject to quarantine.

Travellers can shorten this to five days under the test to release system by paying for a private test on day five, provided it returns a negative result.

However, the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, confirmed on Twitter that certain individuals will be exempt from all quarantine restrictions on arrival in England.

While announcing this week’s travel corridor changes, he tweeted: “New Business Traveller exemption: From 4am on Sat 5th Dec high-value business travellers will no longer need to self-isolate when returning to ENGLAND from a country NOT in a travel corridor, allowing more travel to support the economy and jobs. Conditions apply.

“From 4am on Sat 5th Dec certain performing arts professionals, TV production staff, journalists and recently signed elite sportspersons will also be exempt, subject to specific criteria being met – guidance will be available on gov.uk soon.”

It’s not clear whether this rule might be extended to other parts of the UK, as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all have their own travel restrictions.

Mr Shapps also confirmed that there would be no additions or removals from the travel corridors list this week.

There has been growing frustration with the travel corridors list in recent weeks.

While new destinations continue to be added each week, many are not accessible to those living in the UK via direct flights. A stopover or change of flights elsewhere would invariably trigger a need to self-isolate on return.

In addition, most of Africa remains off the travel corridors list, despite many nations on the continent having far lower infection rates than in the UK.

BY  Simon Calder

Residents of areas that are designated “tier 3” at the end of England’s lockdown have been told they will be able to travel abroad from 2 December.

On Monday 23 November, the government published its plans for the coming winter – which included the options for people wishing to travel abroad.

At present, no one in England can travel domestically or abroad for leisure.

From one minute past midnight on 2 December, people living in tiers 1 and 2 have been told they are able to take holidays.

But for residents of tier 3 areas, the government says: "Avoid travelling out of the area, other than where necessary such as for work, education, youth services, medical attention or because of caring responsibilities.”

Before the second lockdown, many parts of northern England and the Midlands were placed in the tier with the toughest rules. The government has indicated that more locations will be placed in tier 3 once England’s lockdown ends.

No 10 indicated that the instruction to “avoid travelling out of the area” was law, rather than merely guidance.

But on Tuesday morning, the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, said tier 3 residents would be able to go abroad.

Speaking on the BBC’s Today programme, he said holidays would be allowed abroad – “if you're going straight to an airport”.

The chief executive of Heathrow airport said: “Clearly if we have the prime minister and Grant Shapps having different messages, they need to give clarity.

“If people from tier 3 can travel, that will be fantastic.

“We need to get the UK economy back to normal as quickly as possible, and that includes allowing people to fly.”

The government has now confirmed that there will be no legal impediment to travelling on holiday from anywhere in England – subject to outbound and inbound rules.

People living in tiers 1 and 2 will be able to go to tier 3 areas to board a flight.

Flight activities into the Ibadan Airport in the last decade have remained on a low scale. Besides the operator running shuttle flights into the aerodrome, experts are wondering why airlines are not attracted to the airports, KELVIN OSA-OKUNBOR reports

Nigeria has about 28 airports. Twenty-three of them, including the Ibadan Airport, are managed by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

Statistics from aviation regulatory authority reveals that only three of them are viable. Except the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos; Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja; and Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA), Rivers State, none of the other airports has  sufficient revenue to cover the cost of operations alone.

In the South, Ibadan Airport in three years made N349.2 million in generated revenue and collected N244.9 million. The expenditure amounted to N1.39 billion with a deficit of N1.14 billion.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says for an airport to be viable and self-sustaining, it must have at least five million passengers annually.

Ibadan Airport does not fit into this bill.  Only Lagos and Abuja airports could boast of at least five million passengers annually.

The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Aviation, Nnolim Nnaji, declared recently that many of the airports are not just underdeveloped, but grossly underutilised.

The Ibadan Airport, which offers a gateway to the oldest city in Nigeria,was commissioned in 1982. The airport is home to one terminal and an impressive 2,400-metre-long runway.

Besides its impressive facilities  profile, the airport remains largely underutilised as Overland Airways is the only carrier operating scheduled flights into the terminal connecting passengers between Ibadan to Abuja and a return flight between Abuja and Ibadan.

Though carriers, including Arik Air and Associated Aviation had operated flights into the airport in the past, operations into the airport are becoming a subject of intense concern for passengers who complain of perceived high fares on the route.

The General Manager, Public Affairs, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) , Mrs Henrietta Yakubu, said the authority was discussing with the Oyo State government on how to drive activities for Ibadan Airport. She said the government is exploring ways to attract more airlines into the airport.

But, the former Chief Executive Officer , Associated Aviation , Mr Alexander Nwuba , the carrier that opened flights into the airport many years ago, said operators need to understand how the airport works before deploying their aircraft into it for profitable operations.

He said airlines need the right aircraft strategy and passenger demand to drive operations into Ibadan Airport.

Nwuba said though air fares is a key determinant in driving passenger traffic into any airport, operators need to understand route dynamics before plugging into air transport business.

He said:” You have to understand how to operate into that airport. Remember Ibadan Airport is very close to Lagos. I operated on that route for many years along with Makurdi and also re-opened it and Minna Airport.

“The destination for most Ibadan passengers is Abuja not Ilorin, because it is accessible by road. But, there could be traffic on the Lagos / Ibadan route if interested airlines utilise the right aircraft or strategy, because some   passengers do not want to take the risk of being on the roads that are not safe.

“Another key factor affecting Ibadan Airport is the question of demand. There must be demand for air services; it is this drive for demand that would enable airlines make money on the route. It is clear demand for air services into the airport is limited. It is not absolutely about the air fare structure or regime, because fares do not have to be low due to volumes. People do not understand this business.”

Also speaking, Corporate Communications Manager, Arik Air, Mr Adebanji Ola, said the carrier will return to the route to consolidate operations.

He said Ibadan Airport, which Arik Air connected to Abuja, is one of its major routes saying the carrier will return to the route in a few days.

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Ola said the carrier only suspended operations into Ibadan Airport due to the COVID -19 shocks on its operations.

He said:” Arik Air has not abandoned Ibadan Airport. We will restart flight operations into the airport in a few days. We only suspended flights on the Ibadan / Abuja route due to the Corona Virus pandemic.

“There was a time we combined flights on that route with Ilorin into Abuja. But, due to limited equipment we altered the rotation and will now operate between Ibadan and Abuja.”

The Head of Strategy, Zenith Travel and former Head of Marketing, Capital Airlines, Mr Olumide Ohunayo, said Ibadan Airport is not attractive to passenger because of a lot of issues related to schedules.

He said with a lone operator in Ibadan Airport fares will remain high on the Ibadan- Abuja routes because the airport only operate visual flight rules as any operations into the airport above 6.00 pm will cost airlines more because of the state of runway facilities that does not permit night flights.

Ohunayo said to make Ibadan Airport attractive, airlines need to deploy smaller propeller aircraft as deploying bigger jets on the route will not be profitable.

He said Ibadan Airport as a secondary terminal require partnership between the state government, FAAN and airlines to creating activity around the airport.

The expert said: “Ibadan Airport is not a big airport per se , but I think FAAN is yet to adjust to the realities of  modern day marketing  of airports. The airport has proximity airports including Akure and Ilorin Airports and the main hub Lagos Airport. These airports are not too far and actually competing with Ibadan Airport.

“From the triangular routes that we have Lagos , Abuja and Port Harcourt, I think it is only Abuja that is left for Ibadan passengers are travel to by air. They will prefer to connect other cities by road, because they are close. Other factors affecting huge traffic into Ibadan Airport include issues about time constrain, the difficulty of getting to the airport , possible flight delay and traffic issues, which will encourage people to connect Lagos by road to fly to other destinations, these are the considerations that are affecting the Ibadan air market route.

“The major attraction at the airport is the Abuja route and the only operator on that route is offering high fares. With a lone operator on a route what do you expect, the fare will be high.

“Fares on the Ibadan/ Abuja route is killing and passengers are complaining, with only a few passengers ready to pay. Such an arrangement will discourage passengers on that route.”

He said Ibadan Airport lack basic aeronautical facilities as the runway light only permits visual flights. Ohunayo said after 6pm operators are not favourable disposed to operate flights because they have to pay extra charges for the runway air field lightening to be switch on.

He said:” Such additional charges will not encourage airlines to operate into such airports. The state government has not looked at Ibadan Airport as an economic tool it could use to develop the state.  The State Government should look beyond giving out hand out to FAAN to get the airport running, it should look at partnering with some airlines by buying some seats off the carrier to encourage more people to start flying into Ibadan.

“The state government could look at buying may be ten to 12 seats on a middle range aircraft. With such partnership in place it will encourage more airlines to operate into the airport. Any airline that enjoys such partnership for over a year will be encourage keeping flights consistent and starting looking at flights from Lagos into Ibadan and expand flights into other airports from Ibadan.

“I think airlines with smaller aircraft will embrace such a deal, it is a thin route, only suitable for airlines with turbo propeller aircraft. Only State Government can assist such initiative to develop their domain. Even neighbouring states will be encouraged to buy into such initiative.”

Many passengers are unhappy over limited flights into Ibadan Airport either into Lagos, Ilorin or Abuja forcing them to connect Lagos Airport to fly into other routes.

Experts say introduction of rail service between Lagos and Ibadan may not bode well for passenger operations into the airport as travel lets will utilize the newly introduced multi modal network to connect both cities.

Speaking in an interview , Ibadan Airport Manager, Mrs Aiyenuro Tegha, said the aerodrome is not idle because some carriers , including Arik Sir which operated the Ibadan / Abuja route before the outset of COVID -19 pandemic in March 2020 will soon resume operations on the route.

She said AZMAN Air and Max Air were planning to commence flight operations from Ibadan Airport.

Tegha said: “Already AZMAN Air is discussing with Oyo State government to commence operations on the Ibadan / Kano route. The airline is consolidating its partnership and the results will soon manifest positively. Even, Max Air too is discussing with the airport authority and the State Government. Max Air is also planning to commence operations from Ibadan to Port Harcourt and Owerri.

“AZMAN Air is contemplating operations into the Southsouth.”

The Ibadan Airport Manager said the airport has adequate facilities to accommodate as many airlines willing to do business at the aerodrome.

She said the Oyo State government is partnering with FAAN to upgrade the airport to international status for Hajj operations as well as cargo operations.

Ibadan 

Ibadan is one of the most populous cities in the country. The British colonial government assumed control of the city in 1893. After the railway arrived from Lagos(1901), the line was extended northward to Kano (1912), thus ensuring the city’s continuing economic importance.

The economic activities of Ibadan include agriculture, commerce, handicrafts, manufacturing, and service industries.

BY  Chinedu Eze

There are strong indications that stakeholders are considering a merger between Arik Air and Aero Contractors, two airlines under the management of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).

This, THISDAY learnt, would be in response to the difficult times facing airlines, especially with the disruption caused by the Covid-19.

The CEO of Aero Contractors, Captain Ado Sanusi, said the merge could be a possibility, if the federal government was desirous of ensuring the survival of the airlines. But he pointed out that the history and origin of both companies was different, adding that their current circumstances also differ despite the fact that they are under the management of AMCON.

Despite that, Sanusi said financial experts could also look at the two companies, straighten them up and bring them together so that they would become stronger and serve the country better.

According to him, the purpose of running the airlines was to provide greater service to the people, stating that airlines provide logistics that is safe and fast, so every effort should be made to ensure the airlines survive.

The Aero CEO, however, pointed out that although he does not think merging the airline was a good way to go, he said the federal government has the legal right to adopt merger, using very good consultants.

“Aero and Arik can come together but the history of those companies are not similar; their origin and circumstances are different, but government can get financial experts that can look at the two companies and put them together to make sure we serve the public better. “I hope that the federal government is not going to lose that objective because airlines provide efficient logistics that is safe and fast. I think that government has the legal right to do anything, but I don’t think that it is a good way to follow for the two airlines, but I believe that if you get very good consultants, there is nothing that is impossible to do,” Sanusi said.

Spokesman of AMCON, Jude Nwuzor told THISDAY that he was not sure that such plan was on the cards yet, but noted that the two companies may not be compatible for such merger and assured that he would make further enquiries about the plan.

Industry consultant and CEO of Aglo Limited, Tayo Ojuri told THISDAY that the condition the two airlines are presently may not allow them to merge their operations.

But, he pointed out that in order to survive many airlines in the world are adopting merger and acquisition post Covid-19. He noted, however, that if Aero and Arik merge they would become strong contender for investors. “I believe it is the way to go and they should giver it consideration,” Ojuri said.

But he argued that Aero Maintenance should not be part of the merger because that branch of the company, which generated over N350 million last year, was doing well and could stand on its own.

“Aero Maintenance is a different entity and it has been doing well. I don’t think they should sell off that part. It generated N350 million last year and aircraft are lined up to be maintained. They have a strategic alliance with foreign partners, which is very good.”

Industry stakeholders have been canvassing for interlining, merger and acquisition of Nigerian airlines to ensure the survival of domestic carriers and they believe that when they work together they will benefit from economy of scale, share spares and attain strong synergy that would enable them survive.

They had noted that with interline, three airlines, for example, at low hours could use one aircraft to airlift passengers and save themselves cost of fuel and other logistics and above all, operate full load, instead of each airline airlifting few passengers to the same destination.

By Abbas Jimoh

The Muslim Rights Concern has urged the Federal Government to restrict international flights over worldwide reports indicating a second wave of COVID-19.

Its director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, in a statement Thursday, said the second coming of COVID-19 was definitely more severe, citing the recent worldwide cases.

"Nigeria should not allow a return of the deadly pandemic. In view of the increase in its spread in the United States, France, Britain, etc, the Federal Government should act now before it is too late.

"International passengers troop into the country on a daily basis and there has been no report of quarantines. All passengers have been allowed to come into the country. We believe this is not good enough," Akintola said.