Some local airline operators at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport in Abuja have attributed the increase in fares to the current exchange rate.

Officials of the airlines who spoke to NAN on Monday said the aviation industry is reliant on the dollar because aircraft parts can only be obtained from abroad.

Kehinde Ogunyale, Max Air station manager, said: “We need to catch up with the economy. That is why we increase the fare. If not, we may be left behind and will not be able to fund operations anymore”.

“The fare actually went up. From Abuja to Lagos last week, the highest fare was N35,300 (economy class) and N80,000 (business class). From Abuja to Lagos at present, the highest fare is N60,000 (economy class) and N98,000 (business class).”

Ogunyale explained that the festive season also contributed to the fare increment.

“We are in traditional high season. The demand has outweighed capacity. After this period, we are going to a period called `low season`. That is the middle of January when nobody will want to fly.

“So, in order to attract passengers, we will need to lower down the prices. As I said, this is the high season.”

Abdulmalik Jibreel, the station manager of Aero Contractors, the company had no option than to increase the fare to meet the demand of foreign exchange in the market of aircraft parts.

“Government should make a certain percentage for the airlines of `FOREX` as special price by Central Bank of Nigeria. By so doing, this may make ticket fare to drop,” he explained.

“Government needs to step into the aviation sector because we do not manufacture any part of aircraft in Nigeria. One of the previous administrations in the country once waved custom duty on all spare parts of aircraft.

“Government needs to take all these steps to make the aviation sector viable. If not, masses will pay for it.”

Checks also showed that an Azman Air Lagos-Kano economy flight ticket that used to cost N30,000 now goes for N55,000.

James Odaudu, director for public affairs at the ministry of aviation, said the ministry did not have any power to fix ticket prices for airlines.

“The ministry does not have the power to fix tickets prices for airlines. If airlines feel they can increase their tickets, others should take advantage of lowering their tickets prices,” he said when contacted for comments.

“Masses should learn to patronize the ones with lower prices. The others will be forced to go with market forces. It is all about forces of demand and supply.”

By Victoria Ojeme

 The Federal Government says the new reciprocity visa regime with the US government does not exclude Nigerians from paying visa application fees. Ferdinand Nwonye, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja said the “Ministry wishes to clarify that the removal of the visa reciprocity fees does not imply that Nigerians applying for United States visa would not pay visa fees. 

“In essence, the United States Government had increased its visa fees for Nigerians from $160 to roughly $270 to match what the Nigerian Government charged Americans for visas. The Nigerian Government then brought its fees down to $160 and the American Government has now reciprocated by bringing its fees to the same level of $160, ” the spokesperson said. 

The United States had announced a reduction in the fee paid by Nigerian citizens to obtain a visa after the removal of reciprocity fees for Nigerians. “The U.S. Mission to Nigeria is pleased to announce the elimination of visa reciprocity fees, effective immediately. We thank @GovNigeria for its partnership in eliminating these reciprocity fees,” the U.S. Mission to Nigeria tweeted. “Visa application fees remain at $160,” it added. 

The fee, also known as the visa issuance fee, is charged in addition to the nonimmigrant visa application fee. The US government had imposed the reciprocity fee in August last year after Nigeria failed to change its fee structure for US citizen visa applicants despite engagements on the same since early 2018. However, shortly after that action, Nigeria lowered the fee paid by US citizens to obtain a visa in line with the government’s reciprocity policy following a recommendation by a committee. 

The Nigerian government now required American citizens to pay $160 (currently just over 60,000 Nigerian Naira) down from $180 (about 68,500 Nigerian Naira). Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the announcement as a “positive development”, adding that the removal of the fee came into effect from December 3.

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Most Australians will remain banned from international travel until at least March 2021, following an extension of the 'biosecurity emergency period' which enables the Federal Government to place restrictions on overseas flights and cruise ships.

"The emergency period, which has been in place since 18 March 2020, is now set to cease on 17 March 2021," said Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt.

This will mark a full 12 months since the country's borders where slammed shut in the face of COVID-19.

In that time, just over 95,000 Australian residents have been permitted to leave the country after obtaining an exemption from the Department of Home Affairs and the Australian Border Force.

Hunt said the government continued to act on "specialist medical and epidemiological advice provided by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) and Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer."

"The disease is spreading as quickly as ever," Hunt added.

"The international world remains a challenging and dangerous environment and Australia won't be fully safe until the international community is safe."

Vaccinations from March 2021

March 2021 is also when Hunt expects the first shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to be made available, pending approval by the independent Therapeutic Goods Administration.

The government has earmarked 10 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which would cover a maximum 5 million people given the vaccine requires a two-jab regime – one as a starter, the second as a booster.

Injections will be free to all Australians and Medicare-eligible visa holders, although they won't be mandatory.

Under the government's National Vaccination Policy, shots would first be issued to front-line healthcare and aged care workers and quarantine staff whose jobs put them at increased risk of exposure and transmission.

Next on the list will be people with a heightened risk of contracting a severe case of Covid-19 due to their age or underlying health conditions.

Injections will then roll out to what are described as "essential services workers": a group not yet fully defined but encompasses "key occupations" providing services "critical to societal functioning".

With those three bases covered, any member of the public – a group highly likely to include would-be overseas travellers – could line up for a shot.

Three other promising vaccine candidates lined up by the government are from Oxford/AstraZeneca (34m), Novavax (40m) and the University of Queensland (51m).

"Our national goal is to ensure that all Australians who seek to be vaccinated are vaccinated by the end of 2021," Hunt has said, adding that "we will not be out of this until we have a nation which has had a full vaccination program."

Compulsory vaccination for travellers?

Australia’s National Vaccination Policy has also suggested that visitors to Australia may be required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or face two weeks of user-pays hotel quarantine.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce says that vaccination will be mandatory for all Australians flying overseas with the airline once international travel returns in 2021.

Exceptions would likely be made for New Zealand and potentially other countries involved in a COVID-safe ‘travel bubble’, along with passengers who qualify for a medical exemption.

"Australia’s success at virtually eliminating COVID means we’ll need a vaccine for international travel to restart properly," Joyce noted during a market update last week.

"Once a safe and effective vaccine becomes readily available, it will be a requirement for travel on our international services."

Joyce said the airline is currently working with other carriers and the industry as to what form this ‘COVID vaccination passport’ would take, such as a digital travel pass app.

“The Government is working through how vaccines will be registered technically and how a digital passport and digital requirements will be managed, but we have a number of months before detail needs tot be finalised.”

By Hope Abah Emmanuel & Abdullateef Aliyu

Makurdi and Lagos — Air Peace on Monday commenced its inaugural commercial flight from Lagos to Makurdi in Benue State with 40 passengers.

The flight will be Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays connecting passengers from Lagos to Makurdi via Abuja.

The Ground Operations Manager at Air Peace, Adeyemi Ayodeji, who represented the Chairman, Mr. Allen Onyema at the celebration at the Makurdi airport said the disciplined route planning and expansion was driven by our 'no-city-left-behind' initiative.

"Today, as we commence flights into Makurdi from Lagos and Abuja, we are promising that this new route will be optimally serviced, and Nigerians will benefit exceedingly.

"We also pledge to work very harmoniously with all the stakeholders domiciled in the state, the aviation regulator, the airport administrator and, of course, the state government to ensure maximum success," Ayodeji said.

The state governor, Samuel Ortom was on ground to witness a water salute amidst cultural dances by the State arts troupe.

He said having a commercial flight to the state would open it up for foreign direct investment (FDI) as the fear of travelling to the state by road has been completely removed.

Also on ground to receive the inaugural flight was a former Governor of the state and Minister of Special Duties, Senator George Akume and the Airport Manager, Mrs. Comfort Ogbuagwu.

One of the passengers, Kelvin Okafor who boarded the flight from Lagos to Makurdi, said that the experience was worthwhile.

The Nigerian Embassy in Germany has dismissed its security officer found guilty of sexual abuse and other criminal activities.

The security officer identified as Martins Adedeji Oni was earlier seen in a viral video on social media, half-naked in a hotel room arguing with an unidentified person who accused him of demanding sex from females who applied for passport renewals.

The Embassy disclosed this in a series of tweets on its official handle @NigeriaBerlin on Tuesday.

The tweet read: “THE Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has terminated with immediate effect the contract of Mr Martins Adedeji Oni, a security officer at the mission.

“His dismissal comes after an investigation into allegations of corruption and sexual misconduct.”

His appointment has been terminated with immediate effect.

“As a result, Mr. Martins Adedeji Oni contract with the Embassy as a Local Staff has been terminated.

“The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria wishes to further stress its zero-tolerance policy towards all abuses of office, and especially of sexual misconduct,” the embassy noted.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered two new methods drug traffickers now adopt to evade the prying eyes of law enforcement personnel and this had led to the seizure of 14.4kg of cocaine. In a statement,  Mr Jonah Achema, NDLEA spokesman said that the new methods were uncovered in two separate operations at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Special Area Command, Abuja.

Achema said that two suspects were arrested in connection with the seizures at the airport, noting that both suspects were male. He noted that the command intercepted a consignment of four packets of chocolate sweets of white substances, weighing 7.2kg, which tested positive to cocaine in the first operation. He added that NDLEA operatives also uncovered 12 parcels of cellophane wrappers, weighing another 7.2kg, with whitish substances which also tested positive to cocaine in the second operation. 

“The first operation involved Da -Silva Mailson Mario, a Brazilian aged 23, who was arrested with a suit case containing the packets of the chocolate sweet. “This was during the inward clearance of Ethiopian Airline ET 911 which originated from Brazil en-route Addis Ababa to Abuja. “The second operation involved Elechi Adendu Kingsley, a Nigerian aged 39, who was arrested with a bag containing cellophane bags during the inward clearance of Ethiopian Airline flight ET 911, ” he said. Achema said that Mario, the first suspect who spoke through an interpreter, decided to be silent on all questions put to him adding that he was only inquisitive about the jail terms his alleged offence might attract in Nigeria.

He said that Elechi, the second suspect, an indigene of Umulolo Local Government Area of Imo State who has been living in Brazil for the past 13 years said he would not blame anybody for his involvement. He said “I am an adult and I am fully aware of what I was going into. I agree that somebody gave it to me but I offered to carry it, ” Elechi says. 

Achema said that Elechi confirmed that he was promised N3 million upon safe delivery of the drugs to somebody in Nigeria adding he was in Nigeria preparatory to his wedding in January, 2021. 

The Commander, NDLEA Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Mr Kabir Taskuwa, said there was no underestimating the imagination of drug merchants. “What is expected of us is not only to counter their devices but to think ahead of them. As we can see, any step they take, we are many steps ahead, hence the results we are seeing. I wish to promise them more frustration, ” he said. (NAN).

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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released October data for global air freight markets showing that air cargo demand continues to improve but at a slower pace than the previous month and remains below previous year levels.

Global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs), was 6.2 per cent below previous-year levels in October (-7.5 per cent for international operations). That is an improvement from the 7.8 per cent year-on-year drop recorded in September. However, the pace of recovery in October was slower than in September with month-on-month demand growing 4.1 per cent (1.1 per cent for international).

African airlines saw demand increase by 2.8 per cent year-on-year in October. This was lower than the 12.1 per cent growth in September. Despite this, the region still posted the strongest increase in international demand.

The slight weakening in performance can be attributed to a slowdown in the Asia-Africa market where demand decelerated by 19 percentage points year-on-year. International capacity decreased by 20.8 per cent.

Global capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTKs), shrank by 22.6 per cent in October ( 24.8 per cent for international operations) compared to the previous year. That is nearly four times larger than the contraction in demand, indicating the continuing and severe capacity crunch.

Strong regional variations continue with North American and African carriers reporting year-on-year gains in demand (+6.2 per cent and +2.2 per cent respectively), while all other regions remained in negative territory compared to a year earlier.

Improving performance is aligned with improvements in key economic indicators. The new export orders component of the manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) stayed above the 50-mark for the second month in a row. Results above 50 indicate economic growth.

Global goods trade continued to trend upwards in recent months, according to the World Trade Organisation. The uptick will not be sufficient to avoid a full-year decline of 9.2 per cent compared to 2019. Much of this ground, however, will be regained in 2021 with an expectation of 7.2 per cent annual growth;

The Global Composite PMI which reflects changes in global output, employment, new business, backlogs and prices, indicates that economic recovery will continue in Q4/2020 despite a resurgence of the COVID-19 virus in many markets.

IATA’s Director General and CEO, Alexandre de Juniac said demand for air cargo is coming back—a trend continuing into the fourth quarter.

“The biggest problem for air cargo is the lack of capacity as much of the passenger fleet remains grounded. The end of the year is always peak season for air cargo. That will likely be exaggerated with shoppers relying on e-commerce—80 per cent of which is delivered by air.

“So the capacity crunch from the grounded aircraft will hit particularly hard in the closing months of 2020. And the situation will become even more critical as we search for capacity for the impending vaccine deliveries,” de Juniac said.

Asia-Pacific airlines saw demand for international air cargo fall 11.6 per cent in October 2020 compared to the same month a year earlier. This was an improvement from the 14.6 per cent fall in September 2020 and the second consecutive month of improvement. International capacity remained constrained in the region, down 28.7 per cent. However, this was an improvement over 31.8 per cent fall in capacity the previous month. The region’s airlines reported the highest international load factor indicating a solid appetite for air cargo services.

Air Canada will be cutting more routes in Atlantic Canada starting in the new year because of a second wave of COVID-19 infections.

Effective Jan. 11, the airline says it will be suspending until further notice all flights in Sydney, N.S., and Saint John, N.B., along with temporarily halting routes in Deer Lake, N.L., Charlottetown, Fredericton and Halifax.

"This decision was not taken lightly, and we regret the impact on our customers and community partners, but it is increasingly difficult to continue to operate in this challenging environment, without specific financial support from government, with whom [we] continue to wait for negotiations to start," said Peter Fitzpatrick, an Air Canada spokesman.

The move comes after the country's largest airline announced in June the indefinite suspensions of 11 routes in Atlantic Canada and the closure of stations in Bathurst, N.B., and Wabush, N.L.

Fitzpatrick said the most recent route cuts in Atlantic Canada represent a small subset of the 95 planned suspensions it announced along with its third-quarter earnings results in November.

In October, WestJet Airlines said it was suspending 80 per cent of its Atlantic Canada capacity.

Airlines have been cutting service as passenger demand has dwindled, prompting Air Canada to convert several planes to carry freight. The airline industry has been calling for federal support for months.

The federal government last week announced support for sectors that have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, including airports and hotels, but didn't provide specific aid to airlines.

Daniel-Robert Gooch, president of the Canadian Airports Council, said the lack of a targeted response from the federal government contributed to the cuts by Air Canada.

"This development was practically inevitable given the continued provincial restrictions on air travel in Atlantic Canada, the reluctance to consider COVID-19 testing programs to improve safety and mitigate the need for such long quarantines and the lack of federal support for our air carrier partners," he said.

Derrick Stanford, president of the Atlantic Canada Airports Association and CEO of Saint John Airport, said this third major round of cuts in the last six months is whittling down service to an unsustainable level.

Other airports across the country have made drastic cuts to their operating expenses as the lack of revenue from fees forces them to reduce costs.

"Our industry cannot survive and operate in these conditions, and we are seeing the worst-case scenario playing out here today," Stanford said in a news release.

"This will have a huge impact on our region’s economy, on the ability of families to reconnect, on the movement of essential workers, and on airport employees and businesses.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 8, 2020.

By Chinedu Eze

The almost 70 per cent rise in domestic airfares have attributed it to the weakening exchange rate, paucity of operating equipment, high cost of aircraft maintenance and increase in the price of aviation fuel.

THISDAY findings revealed that air tickets for economy class that were being sold between N20, 000 and N30, 000 in July, has now increased to between N60,000 and N70,000; while business class tickets that were being sold for N50, 000 is now between N70, 000 and N80,000.

There are indications that fares would increase further as the yuletide draws nearer.

The Chief Executive Officer of Aero Contractors, Captain Ado Sanusi, told THISDAY, that henceforth, tickets would be very expensive and there might not be enough aircraft seats because there is not enough operating aircraft to meet passengers’ demand.

Sanusi said the increase in fares was also a reflection of the dollar scarcity, noting that this was happening at a time airlines were yet to recover from the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The exchange rate of the dollar has a big impact in the aviation industry because everything we do have dollar component because spares are acquired with foreign exchange, we pay for insurance in dollars because local insurance companies do not have the capacity to insure aircraft fully, so it is expected that tickets will be very expensive.

“As we move on there will come a time when there will be no aircraft seats because fewer aircraft will be flying. So currently there is high demand but low capacity; obviously the basic law of supply and demand will apply. “The price of tickets will also increase because of the high foreign exchange, as dollar is now being exchanged for N500, so we expect a disproportionate increase in the price of tickets.

“Also insurance premium will continue to rise in Nigeria because after the global rise occasioned by the two Boeing MAX crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia, the lockdown brought down the cost but it will continue to increase in Nigeria because the local market is not strong enough so we have to go outside the country to insure and we pay in dollars.

“We sell our tickets in naira and we buy dollars to pay for insurance. We have a big elephant in the room and that is the exchange rate issue; the earlier it is solved the better for the economy of this country,” Sanusi said.

The Chief Operating Officer of Ibom Air, George Uriesi explained to THISDAY that airlines may not have gone beyond their price structure in their ticket sales but because of the high demand of tickets they are sold at the higher prices.

The fare structure is graduated in such manner that the high prices come up when the lower prices are exhausted and this is automatically determined by demand.

“I am not aware that there is price increase; maybe, not for Ibom Air. I don’t know what other airlines are doing but at Ibom Air the highest fare for economy class is N50, 000 and business class is N70, 000 and we have not increased fares on any of the routes. It is demand that increases the fares and we have sold all our seats from now till January because there is high load factor. “Maybe other airlines have increased the price structure to maximise the benefits of the high season. You know that there were no flights for a long time while airlines were maintaining their aircraft and servicing their leases; so this season is an opportunity to take advantage of because after January 15, 2021, we go into another low season till March. But now people cannot find seats in flights,’ he said.

Uriesi, who was former Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) also noted the depreciation of the naira exchange rate, saying when place side by side with dollar value six months ago it would become obvious that airlines are not making profits because ticket sold at N50, 000 pre-COVID-19 is more than the value of $100 but today is just equal to $100 dollars; so the airlines are really losing.

Travel expert and organiser of Akwaaba African Travel Market, Ikechi Uko told THISDAY that the high cost of air fares could be attributed to the slow recovery of the aviation industry after the Coronavirus pandemic lookdown, the recession and the high exchange rate. “People had expected that the aviation industry would have recovered between August and now but this did not happen; instead of recovery the country was hit by recession and also the devaluation of the naira.

“It is now hectic because airlines have to recover their running cost. Unlike hotels where if guests did not come you wait for them to come but airlines must operate their schedule whether there is a full load or there is low turnout of passengers; so they incur losses, which must be recovered,” Uko said.

By Victoria Ojeme

The United States Embassy in Nigeria has advised both U.S citizens and dual nationals to ensure that their international passport has at least six months validity period before they travel this holiday.

Many countries require passports to be valid for six months beyond the intended return date. If it expires before that, one may be denied boarding or entry upon arrival at the destination.

The six- month passport validity rule is enforced because nations do not want to risk having travelers and tourists overstaying their passport validity. Most visitors to the United States are also now required to have six months validity of their passports.

A statement on the website of the US Embassy said that as "the holiday season approaches, U.S. citizens should ensure their passports have at least six months remaining validity beyond their planned date of departure from Nigeria.

"Please note that U.S. citizens, including dual nationals, must use a U.S. passport to enter and leave the United States. Dual nationals may also be required by the Government of Nigeria to use its passport to enter and leave the country. Dual nationals are reminded to bring both their U.S. and Nigerian passports to avoid delays entering and exiting Nigeria.

"Read the Department of State's COVID-19 page for Nigeria before you travel. There are specific COVID-related entry and exit requirements that must be followed to avoid delays upon arrival.

"To schedule an appointment for a passport renewal, please visit the appropriate website for Lagos or Abuja. Appointments are limited and on a first-come, first-served basis.

"Please note that all visitors to the Embassy and Consulate are subject to security screening. Anyone entering the security perimeter is required to wear a face mask. People with symptoms of COVID-19 will be prohibited from entering."

Vanguard News Nigeria