MAY 15, 2024

HSBC and Deloitte have reportedly withdrawn job offers to foreign graduates of UK universities, according to reports, as the impact of new visa rules continues to disrupt recruitment across the economy.

The retractions have been driven by a significant uptick in the salary that a “skilled worker” needs to be paid – from £26,200 to £38,700 for those under 26 years of age- in order for them to stay in the country.

KPMG pulled a similar move last month.

The changes have forced employers to reconsider job offers for those below the salary threshold, particularly affecting those just joining the workforce.

Whilst this is disappointing for both the candidates involved and for HSBC we are required to follow the regulations of every market we operate in.
HSBC spokesperson

The Financial Times first reported the story.

HSBC hires around 700 graduates every year.

The FT reported that HSBC’s decisions affected those in the “digital innovation” division based in the Sheffield office. Deloitte are reported to have withdrawn offers from around 35 foreign students.

Earlier this week business groups sounded the alarm on the new rules, saying uncertainty over whether or not graduates could stay in the UK risked undermining the higher education sector.

Karim Fatehi, chief executive of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), said: “In London alone, international students bring £9.59bn of net economic gain each year and we are greatly encouraged by the recommendation that the route should remain as it is.”

He added: “At a time when skills gaps are crippling the workforce, the government must do everything in its power to alleviate this pressure on businesses.

“This includes enriching the UK’s academic environment so there are workers to fill these shortages post-graduation.”

HSBC told the FT that “due to changes in the rules covering those seeking sponsored visas to work in the UK we are unable to take forward a small number of offers to candidates as part of our graduate scheme this year. Whilst this is disappointing for both the candidates involved and for HSBC we are required to follow the regulations of every market we operate in. We are currently in discussions with those impacted.” Deloitte declined to comment.

MAY 15, 2024

Air cargo volumes across airports in Nigeria dwindled in 2023 after inflation accelerated

Rising production costs, dwindling purchasing power, elevated exchange rates have significantly affected air cargo volumes processed across Nigerian airports.

In 2023, the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) recorded a six percent decline in its total tonnage to 61.09 million kg from 65.65 million kg in 2022. The decline was as a result of a dip across all its services such as import, export and courier.

Total import for NAHCO decreased by 6.7 percent to 43.88 million kg in 2023 from 47.08 million kg in 2022. The company also witnessed a reduction in export in 2023 to 14.14 million from 13.44 million kg.

Similarly, Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO)’s total tonnage decreased in 2023 to 63.56 million kg from 68.23 million kg in 2022.

In this case it is driven by a decline in its total import as SAHCO witnessed an increase in its total export.

SAHCO saw its export grow to 17.34 million kg in 2023 from 16.34 million kg the previous year, while its total import decreased to 46.22 million kg in 2023 from 51.89 million kg.

Seyi Adewale, the chief executive officer of Mainstream Cargo Limited, told BusinessDay that the dwindle in cargo volumes being processed across airports in Nigeria as a result of cost of production which largely increased because it is not easily passed over to the consumer due to eroding purchasing power.

“These higher costs include diesel, supply chain cost due airfreight, fuel surcharges, higher exchange rates affected by CBN on Customs Currency Exchange Platform,” Adewale said.

He mentioned other factors to include higher local transport and distribution costs, exiting or temporary closure of production / manufacturing companies such as Smithkline Beecham, amongst others.

“Some FG’s restrictions or policies trying to either force or compel companies operating in Nigeria to source raw materials locally is also a factor that affected cargo volumes. Eg, the milk producing companies and card production by telecoms companies,” he said.

Ikechi Uko, the organiser of Aviation and Cargo Conference (CHINET) told BusinessDay that the economy was shrinking because even imports reduced, which shows a response to the economy and the economic situation.

Uko said in the last four to five years, only few freighters fly into Nigeria on selected days.

“The daily group of freighters that fly in lot of goods no longer come in. So we now have a belly hold for most of the goods that go out of Nigeria and come into Nigeria. There have also been a need to export perishables and do a lot of export.

“This explains why we have had increase in export. With the falling of the naira, everyone wants to earn dollars. There is an increase energy and activities to do more export. The falling tonnage is a good mirror to see how our economy has performed and it is obvious that we have not performed well,” he explained.

BusinessDay last year reported that big cargo planes specifically designed to carry cargo stopped flying into Nigeria as a result of the foreign exchange scarcity and trapped funds experienced by carriers.

Before the airlines’ trapped funds issue started in Nigeria, cargo aircraft flew into Nigeria three to four times weekly. However, findings by BusinessDay show that currently, most cargo planes have stopped operations in Nigeria.

Cargolux, Saudi Cargo and Emirates Cargo airlines which operated cargo flights into Nigeria have all stopped flights into the country. Only Turkish Airlines cargo planes still carry out skeletal operations in Nigeria and sometimes, the airline is unable to operate even one flight to the country in one week.

Airlines now use the belly compartment in passenger aircraft to accommodate cargo. However, importers or exporters with large cargo have had to charter cargo planes to bring in their cargo products into Nigeria at very exorbitant rates.

“Currently, no freighter cargo airline is coming into Nigeria. We used to have freighter cargo carriers like Cargolux and others that fly into Nigeria between three to four times weekly, but all of them have stopped. We don’t have any single freighter cargo airline coming into Nigeria,” Kingsley Nwokeoma, president, Association of Foreign Airlines and Representatives in Nigeria, (AFARN) told BusinessDay.

“So what happens to cargo now is that the bellies of passenger aircraft such as the 777, and the big Airbus aircraft are used to take some reasonable amount of cargo.”

Nwokeoma explained that for operators to export or import very big cargoes that cannot enter the belly of passenger flights, it means they have to pay for a charter plane to bring in those cargoes.

“For instance, telecommunications operators have to charter planes to bring in their masts. The marine sector is taking advantage of this gap and more people who are willing to wait for one to three months for the arrival of their goods now export and import via sea,” the AFARN president said.

MAY 15, 2024

BY  Eric Johnson, Bloomberg News

(Bloomberg) -- Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin LLC is slated to resume space tourist flights on May 19 after it halted crewed operations following a 2022 midflight mishap, the company said on Tuesday.   

Blue Origin returned its small New Shepard booster to space late last year without a crew, confirming a Bloomberg News report on the timing of the mission. The company, seen as a future key strategic rival to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is also building a massive orbital class rocket and aims to send humans to the moon later this decade.

Blue Origin’s flight is its seventh human flight from its West Texas facilities, the company said. Its last crewed fight was in August 2022.

--With assistance from Loren Grush.

MAY 16, 2024

• Airline to resume daily operations to Lagos offering unrivalled connectivity for Nigerian travellers

Dubai, UAE, 16 May, 2024 – Emirates will resume services to Nigeria from 1 October 2024, operating a daily service between Lagos and Dubai, and offering customers more choice and connectivity from Nigeria’s largest city to, and through, Dubai.

The service will be operated using a Boeing 777-300ER. EK783 will depart Dubai at 0945hrs, arriving in Lagos at 1520hrs; the return flight EK784 will leave Lagos at 1730hrs and arrives in Dubai at 0510hrs the next day. Tickets can be booked now on emirates.com or via travel agents.

Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer said, “We are excited to resume our services to Nigeria. The Lagos-Dubai service has traditionally been popular with customers in Nigeria and we hope to reconnect leisure and business travellers to Dubai and onwards to our network of over 140 destinations.  We thank the Nigerian government for their partnership and support in re-establishing this route and we look forward to welcoming passengers back onboard.”

With the resumption of operations to Nigeria, Emirates operates to 19 gateways in Africa with 157 flights per week from Dubai, with further reach to an additional 130 regional points in Africa through its codeshare and interline partnerships with South African Airways, Airlink, Royal Air Maroc, Tunis Air, among others.

As a major economic hub in Africa, Nigeria and the UAE have built strong bilateral trade relations over the years, headlined by Lagos as the nation’s commercial centre. With the resumption of daily passenger flights, the airline’s cargo arm, Emirates SkyCargo, will further bolster the trade relationship by offering more than 300 tonnes of bellyhold cargo capacity, in and out of Lagos every week.

Emirates SkyCargo will support Nigerian businesses by exporting their goods via its state-of-the-art hub in Dubai, into key markets such as the UAE, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Bahrain, among others with key anticipated commodities such as Kola Nuts, food and beverages, and urgent courier material. Emirates SkyCargo will also import vital goods such as pharmaceuticals and electronics as well as general cargo from key markets such as the UAE, India and Hong Kong. Keeping trade flowing seamlessly, these goods will be transported quickly, efficiently, and reliably via the airline’s multi-vertical specialized product portfolio. 

The Emirates Boeing 777-300ER serving Lagos will operate with 8 First Class suites, 42 Business Class seats, and 304 seats in Economy Class. Offering the best experience in the sky, passengers can dine on regionally inspired multi-course menus developed by a team of award-winning chefs complemented by a wide selection of premium beverages. Customers can tune in to over 6,500 channels of global entertainment, including 23 Nigerian movies, in addition to series and other content on ice, Emirates’ award-winning inflight entertainment system.

MAY 16, 2024

By Daniel Sandford

BBC News home affairs correspondent

A retired 74-year-old Ghanaian man who has lived in the UK for nearly 50 years must wait a decade before the Home Office will let him stay permanently.

Nelson Shardey, from Wallasey in Wirral, had for many years assumed he was officially seen as British.

He only discovered otherwise in 2019 and, despite paying taxes all his adult life, now faces paying thousands of pounds to stay and use the NHS.

The Home Office declined to comment on the ongoing legal case.

'Never queried'

Retired newsagent Mr Shardey first came to the UK in 1977 to study accountancy, on a student visa that also allowed him to work.

After a coup in his native Ghana his family could no longer send him money for the fees.

He took on a series of jobs, making Mother's Pride bread and Kipling's Cakes near Southampton, and Bendick's Chocolate in Winchester, and said no-one ever queried his right to live or work in the UK.

He married a British woman and moved to Wallasey to run his own business, a newsagent called Nelson's News.

When that marriage ended, he married another British woman and they had two sons Jacob and Aaron.

"I tried my utmost to educate them the best way I could, so that neither of them would depend on social or anything," Mr Shardey said.

He told his sons to "learn hard, get a good job, and work for themselves", and both went on to university and then careers as a research scientist and a public relations executive.

Mr Shardey said he had never left the UK, as he saw no need to and regarded it as his home.

"Nobody questioned me. I bought all my things on credit, even the house.

"I got a mortgage. And nobody questioned me about anything," he said.

Mr Shardey has performed jury service, and in 2007 was given a police award for bravery after tackling a robber who was attacking a delivery man with a baseball bat.

But in 2019, when he applied for a passport so he could go back to Ghana following the death of his mother, he was told he was not British.

The Home Office said he had no right to be in the UK.

'I can't afford to pay'

Officials told him to apply for the 10-year route to settlement.

Over the 10 years it costs about £7,000, with a further £10,500 over the same period to access the NHS.

"I cannot afford to pay any part of the money they are asking," said Mr Shardey, who is recovering from prostate cancer.

"Telling me to go through that route is a punishment, and it's not fair in any way."

"I don't understand why this fuss at all, because I put my life, my whole self into this country. "

When he tried to extend his right to stay in the UK online two years ago, he filled out the wrong form.

That meant the 10-year process had to begin again in 2023.

As a result, Mr Shardey will not be allowed to stay in the UK permanently until he is 84.

"I just thought it was a joke. It's just ridiculous," said his son Jacob, who does research in cardiovascular physiology.

"Why would he need to go and start this 10-year route when he's been here since 1977?

"He's been here longer than the people who are working in the Home Office on his case have been alive."

'Exceptional facts'

With the help of Nicola Burgess, a lawyer at Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit (GMIAU), Mr Shardey is now taking the Home Office to court.

His case - which his sons are trying to pay for through crowdfunding - is that the Home Office should have treated him as an exception because of the length of time he has been in the UK, and because of his bravery award and service to the community.

"We know that at least one caseworker has looked at his file and suggested that he should be granted indefinite leave to remain because there are exceptional facts," Ms Burgess said.

"And when you look at it on a personal level, if Nelson was your friend or your neighbour, you would absolutely agree that he should be given the immediate right to settle."

A Home Office spokesman said: "It would be inappropriate to comment on active legal proceedings."

MAY 17, 2024

(Bloomberg) -- China’s international air passenger traffic recovered to over 80% of pre-Covid levels in April, reflecting efforts by Beijing to attract more overseas visitors to the nation’s shores and a growing propensity of Chinese to travel abroad after the pandemic.

About 5.1 million international air passenger trips were made in April, Li Yong, a senior official with Civil Aviation Administration of China, said at a briefing in Beijing on Friday. It’s the third month that international air passenger traffic held at more than 80% of the pre-pandemic levels, according to Li.

The total number of air passenger trips, including domestic and international routes, reached 56 million, representing a year-over-year growth of 10.6% and an increase of 5.3% from 2019, before Covid, according to CAAC.

Read more: Chinese Tourism Surge Brings Relief to Global Travel Industry

China has introduced a slew of policy measures since late last year to try and attract more international visitors. Earlier this month Beijing said it would allow visa-free entry for foreign tour groups that come to the country via cruise ships and visa-free entry is now available for travelers from some European and Asian countries.

Travel sentiment is also finally picking up within China, according to a survey from Bloomberg Intelligence, as a willingness to spend boosts the number of domestic and outbound trips that people are taking. Most major international destinations are seeing gains, including in Southeast Asia, and interest in Europe is building, analyst Tim Bacchus said.

The trends are reflected in the April monthly data of China’s top three airlines.

China Southern Airlines Co., the country’s largest carrier by planes and passengers, said in an exchange filing late Thursday that its passenger traffic grew 19.8% from a year ago last month. International routes saw a 143.8% year-on-year growth in traffic.

For China Eastern Airlines Corp. and Air China Ltd., the year-on-year growth of international passenger traffic in April was 338.56% and 228.9% respectively. 

MAY 17, 2024

BY  Chinedu Eze

Aviation industry stakeholders have expressed deep concern over the many aircraft incidents in recent time, insisting that the development is aggravating their fears and compelling them to remember major air accidents that occurred in Nigeria in the past that claimed the lives of many Nigerians

They therefore called on the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the federal government to take urgent action to stem the situation.

Since last year, Nigeria has recorded many air incidents involving aircraft overshooting the runway and even accident, where a single engine aircraft crashed on the street in Ikeja, Lagos but there were no fatalities.

Industry insiders say this is similar prologue that led to tragic crashes in early 2000s, peaking in 2005 and 2006, involving Sosoliso Airlines, ADC Airlines, Bellview Airlines

During this period, some accidents with fatalities come to mind, including Skypower Express Airways Bandeirante 110P1A that crashed on landing at Abuja airport, January 5, 2000, killing 17 person; the EAS Airlines BAC 1-11-500 that crashed on May 4, 2002, killing 76 out of 105 persons on board in Kano. It crashed on densely populated suburb, killing 72 persons on the ground, and bringing total casualties to 148.

On December 19, 2004, a Boring 727 aircraft operated by Chanchangi Airlines belly-landed at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos but there were no fatalities. On October 22, 2005, a Boeing 737-200 operated by Bellview Airlines which took off from Lagos on its way to Abuja, crashed at high speed, just a few minutes after take-off, killing all 117 persons on board.

Also, on December 10, 2005, a Port Harcourt bound flight 1145 from Abuja, operated by Sosoliso Airlines, crash landed at the airport, killing 109 passengers, including 60 students of Jesuit Loyola College, Abuja and on October 29, 2006, Aviation Development Corporation (ADC) Airlines operated Boeing 737 with 104 passengers on board crashed minutes after take-off from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, killing 98 passengers with six survivors.

Industry insiders posited that before these major tragic accidents there were minor and major incidents that happened in between. They noted that since 2006 there were the missing Beechcraft 1500 that disappeared on its way to Bebi airstrip in March 2008, which was later found to have crashed in a dense forest in Cross River state with the three-member crew dead and also there was the tragic crash of Dana Air flight on June 3, 2012 that killed 153 people on board and six on the ground. Also, the Associated Aviation Flight 361, which crashed on take-off at the domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport on October 3, 2013, killing 16 of the 20 persons on board.

Since 2013 till date, there have not been major tragic accident that involved commercial airline on scheduled flight service, but there have been incidents that awake the fear that Nigeria may be heading to another major accident if NCAA does not take the right actions.

In November last year, Valujet operated Bombardier, CRJ-900 aircraft with registration 5N-BXR, skidded off the runway after landing at the Port Harcourt International Airport. There was serious incident that happened at the Samuel Ladoke Akintola Airport, Ibadan in Oyo State on November 3, 2023, which an aircraft not designated for charter service was involved in charter operation and it landed short of the runway in the night and crashed into the bush. Also, on August 2, 2023 a single engine, fixed wing, Jabiru aircraft with registration number 5NCCQ and three persons on board crash-landed into an old communication pole inward Ikeja Bus Stop on Oba Akran Avenue, Ikeja Lagos. Before these two incidents there have been records of helicopter accidents that claimed lives. Industry operators attributed these accidents to growing poor oversight function of NCAA. Then there was another serious incident at the Ibadan Airport involved HS25B aircraft with Permit for Non-Commercial Flight (PNCF) with call sign, 5NAMM operated by Flint Aero. All these incidents preceded the skidding off runway of Dana Air flight and that of Xejet, which happened last week.

Reacting to these incidents, industry stakeholder and former Commandant of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Group Captain John Ojikutu (rtd), agreed these could be precursor to a major accident. “Oh yes, I do because there have been similar currencies even after that safety recommendations were made and am not sure they all have been implemented. But where you think they have been implemented, were the corrections done by certified impementor approved by the NCAA? One major problem between the NCAA and FAAN (Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria) is the word ‘AUTHORITY’ in their nomenclature that makes FAAN perceive itself as a self regulatory authority.

“In the recent incident like in the past, is FAAN certified to do runway derubberisation or has it presented any qualified and NCAA certified agent  for the derubberiation? Did NCAA inspect the job and certified it okay for flights operations to use? When last did the NCAA itself conduct the periodic maintenance audit on the runway? I hope these questions would be effectively answered to clear both FAAN and NCAA. I forgot to mention that runways are good to be certified for flights operations just as aircraft too are certified before flights operations,” he said.

However, the Managing Director of Flight and Logistics Solutions Limited, Amos Akpan said the recent incidents at the nation’s airports do not translate to “harbinger of tragic accident that may come in future”.

“My position is that:we isolate each incident and take seriously the investigation and the reports. Make sure the recommendations from the investigation reports are implemented, then give feedback on the implementation to the industry. There must be an industry monitoring records of: What happened? What caused it? What are we doing to avoid reoccurrence? These must be documented like the law report in the Judiciary. Copies of these reports and recommendations should be originated by NCAA and deposited for reference purposes with the operators, Nigerian Safety Investigation Board  (NSIB), and the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria (as academic and workplace reference materials).

“Incidents and accidents will happen where machines and humans interface. But there must be safety systems in place aimed at zero injuries or harm. Adherence to these safety systems reduces injury or harm to the bearest acceptable minimum. Operators and NCAA must rise up to these challenges by adherence to their own documented and approved operational specifications,” Akpan said.

He also advised that NCAA should not only inspect, correct, and, where necessary sanction airlines; but it must spread effective and noticeable oversight to include the following: handling companies, fuel companies, catering companies, FAAN, private or state owned airports, maintenance organizations, and airfreight companies.

“The system must be able to throw up non compliance and compromisers like the sore thumb for all to see. Most of the preventive and preemptive steps to take are documented in the civil aviation regulations. All concerned just need to practice what we have documented,” he said.

Speaking, the member of Airline Operators of Nigeria and the President of Topbrass Aviation Limited, Captain Roland Iyayi, said the major challenge the aviation sector has is the inability to keep data of past incidents and other activities in the industry.

“Assuming we kept data, things like these will continue to remind NCAA of what to do. If a trend is not good you correct it. Runway excursion at different airports could be an indication of poor training. Data give you a trend and help you to repair something before it becomes a crisis. I can see a trend and that can point at poor training. You can use data to draw conclusions,” he said.

MAY 17, 2024

Nigeria’s non-oil exports of $4.5 billion is being constricted by a knowledge gap among exporters and the challenge of incomplete documentation, including the bill lading, as well as the failure to comply with the required trade guidelines, experts say.

According to the Nigerian Customs Service, exporters must have specific basic documents for an export transaction to be allowed to exit the country.

Among these documents are a duly completed Nigeria Export Proceed Form (NXP), a Proforma Invoice, a sales contract/agreement where applicable, NEPC registration certificate, a relevant certificate of quality issued by one or more of the agencies such as Plant Quarantine, NAFDAC or SON, shipping documents including Bill of Exit, Bill of Lading and Form EUR-1

A bill of lading is a legal document issued by a carrier to a shipper that details the type, quantity, and destination of the goods being carried.

In 2023, Nigeria’s non-oil export proceeds declined by 6.25 percent to $4.5 billion compared to $4.8 billion earned in 2022, according to Nonye Ayeni, executive director of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC).

Analysts warned that the value could further decline this year if the challenges hindering export trade in Nigeria are not resolved in earnest.

BusinessDay findings show that thousands of export containers get trapped at port terminals due to logistics hurdles to move from the export processing terminals and warehouses to the ports in Lagos.

The standard, according to analysts, is that export goods are not supposed to stay in the port terminals for more than seven days, but several are retained for upwards of two years, jeopardising the Nigerian Ports Authority and the NEPC-created Export Processing Terminals and Export Warehouses, respectively.

Today, most export cargo that gain access to the port spend between three weeks and over two years, while some end up not leaving Nigeria.

A recent visit to Apapa Port revealed that a total of 4,837 export container boxes were trapped at the port. A breakdown shows that about 1,940 containers spent between zero and 10 days; 1,524 containers stayed between 11 and 20 days; 757 containers spent between 21 and 30 days while 616 were categorised as abandoned export containers for spending between 31 days and over two years.

Obiora Madu, the director-general of the African Centre for Supply Chain, said most of the challenges and delays faced by exporters in the value chain centred around poor and incomplete documentation as well as non-compliance to trade guidelines.

According to him, 95 percent of documents submitted by exporters have discrepancies due to a lack of export skills.

Citing an example, Madu told BusinessDay on the phone that an export document was brought to his desk during his days in the bank, and after going through the documentation, he called the attention of the exporter to one missing document.

He said the exporter insisted that the document was not needed, only for the goods to be detained in the destination port and the exporter was compelled to return to get that missing document.

“That incident caused both the exporter and importer additional delays and losses that could have been avoided if the right thing was done in the country of origin, Nigeria,” Madu said.

Madu noted that exports thrive on a tripod of development, promotion, and the ability of exporters to submit documents that can’t be faulted.

Also, Kayode Daniel, government relations manager at APM Terminals, said “There is an established procedure and documents clearly defined by government agencies that some exporters are not complying with.”

According to him, the inability of exporters to complete the documents required for the containers to leave the port is creating operational bottlenecks for the terminal operator resulting in multiple handling of export boxes.

Technically, Daniel said, exporters’ action or inaction stalls the shipment of goods because Customs would not authorise the loading of export boxes without proper documentation.

BusinessDay discovered that the development has created inefficiency and delay in the country’s export value chain as new export cargo finds it difficult to enter the port while those in export processing terminals spend longer days, thereby jeopardising the quality of Nigeria’s export goods shipped to international markets.

Also, Lukman Shittu, chairman of the Nexus Association of Maritime Transport Operators, said Nigeria’s exports do not get to the international market on time, and that is why exports originating from Nigeria do not meet quality standards.

Shittu said the country was losing its export position to other West African countries and contracts cancelled by importers overseas due to challenges limiting the Nigerian government’s export drive.

“Nigeria cannot diversify to become a major exporter of non-oil goods if it remains business as usual. We are not serious because up until now; we have yet to make exports seamless, especially the small exporters. Nigeria needs to be intentional about driving export trade if we must earn the much-needed dollars to grow our economy,” Madu said.

He noted that Nigeria must borrow a leaf from a country like Finland by creating an export task force to ensure export bottlenecks are resolved using phone calls rather than memos.

“We need to give a mandate to government agencies involved in the export value chain to ensure speedy clearance of export, introduce technology to check delays and fast-track documentation. We also need to build the capacity of Nigerians to become good exporters by ensuring they take certification that would prepare them to become good exporters,” he stressed.

MAY 20, 2024

BY Olasunaknmi Akinlotan

The United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority has written Nigeria’s Civil Aviation Authority stating Air Peace has reportedly violated some aviation safety regulations

The development came barely three months after the Nigerian carrier commenced the Lagos-London route.

Two mandatory occurrence reports on Air Peace had been reportedly sent to the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority.

The UK CAA, in turn, forwarded the complaints to the NCAA.

The CAA’s letter of complaint forwarded to NCAA was entitled; ‘United  Kingdom SAFA Ramp Inspection Report with reference number: CAA-UK, -2024-0217’ and ‘NATS Management System  Safety Report.’

The NCAA has also written to Air Peace to provide clarification on the issues.

The letter, with reference number: NCAA/DOLTS/APL/Vol.11/03624 was titled, “United Kingdom SAFA Ramp Inspection Report.

It was dated May 14, 2024, and signed by the NCAA General Manager of Operations, Capt. O.O. Lawani.

In the letter, the NCAA said the UK CAA had called its attention to the no operational approval of Electronic Flight Bag functions affecting the safe operation of the aircraft, while adding that the captain of the flight admitted that an Electronic Flight Bag was being used for navigational purposes.

NCAA further noted that the CAA stated in its letter that there was “no mounting device for the use of EFB, no charging points or battery for backup.”

Air Peace recently commenced operation to London Gatwick from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos under the Bilateral Air Services Agreement, which Nigeria has with the UK.

The spokesperson of Air Peace, Stanley Olisa, could not be reached as of press time.

When called, the spokesperson of the airline picked but when this reporter began to enquire about the development, he kept mute until the call ended.

Our correspondent also sent a text message of enquiry to the spokesman but there was no response as of the time of filing this report.

MAY 20, 2024

BY  OLASUNKANMI AKINLOTAN

The United States has announced the reintroduction of an Air Transport Agreement with Nigeria to strengthen bilateral aviation ties between the two countries.

This was disclosed by the Public Diplomacy Department of the U.S. Mission in Nigeria.

According to the statement, the agreement, which had provisionally been applied since 2000, was muted to establish a modern civil aviation relationship between the two countries.

The statement reads, “The U.S.-Nigeria Air Transport Agreement, which has been provisionally applied since 2000, entered into force on May 13, 2024. This bilateral agreement establishes a modern civil aviation relationship with Nigeria is consistent with U.S. Open Skies international aviation policy and with commitments to high standards of aviation safety and security.”

Giving the essence of the agreement, the Public Diplomacy Department of the U.S. Mission stated that the benefits included provisions that allow for unrestricted capacity and frequency of services, open route rights, a liberal charter regime, and open code-sharing opportunities.

It further noted, “This agreement with Nigeria is a step forward in liberalising the international civil aviation sector in Africa and further expands our strong economic and commercial partnership, promotes people-to-people ties, and creates new opportunities for airlines, travel companies, and customers.

“With this agreement, air carriers can provide more affordable, convenient, and efficient air services to travellers and shippers, which in turn promotes tourism and commerce.”