Travel News

Sfundo Parakozov

JOHANNESBURG, Dec 5 (Reuters) – South African Airways said it had cancelled flights to Perth and Sao Paulo on Thursday after receiving confirmation from the SAA Pilots Association that they planned to strike following a deadlock in pay talks.

The company decided to cancel the Perth and Sao Paulo routes last night after being told the strike planned for Thursday would go ahead, Khaya Buthelezi, the airline’s senior manager of corporate relations, told Reuters.

“That’s the decision we took last night since we could not find partner airlines that we can transfer our customers to, it became clear that those two routes must be cancelled,” he said.

Early on Thursday, there were no disruptions to domestic flights and routes across Africa as the airline had made contingency plans, he said.

Some pilots were seen picketing outside the SAA office at the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, Buthelezi said.

The SAA Pilots Association (SAAPA) did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

SAAPA’s initial demand proposed in May was for a 30% increase in pilot salaries, which was subsequently reduced to 15.7%, including associated benefits, SAA said in a statement earlier this week.

The company’s interim Chief Executive Officer John Lamola said in that statement that the demand for a 15.7% pay rise would trigger the company’s decline into bankruptcy.

The airline has offered an 8.46% pay increase backdated to April.

The national carrier was on the verge of being liquidated before it entered a form of bankruptcy protection in 2019.

(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov, Editing by Bhargav Acharya and Jane Merriman)

By Gift Habib

United States President-elect Donald Trump has announced plans to deport all immigrants in the United States illegally over his upcoming four-year term.

In an interview aired Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press, Trump detailed his vision for a broad crackdown on illegal immigration, which he intends to classify as a national emergency upon taking office on January 20.

According to Reuters, the Department of Homeland Security estimates that as of January 2022, over 11 million people are in the US without legal status, a figure likely higher today.

Trump affirmed his intention to remove all unauthorized immigrants, stating, “I think you have to do it. It’s a very tough thing to do. You know, you have rules, regulations, laws.”

While emphasising enforcement, Trump signaled willingness to negotiate protections for “Dreamers,” immigrants brought to the US illegally as children.

During his first term, Trump attempted to dismantle the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme, which provides deportation relief to this group, but was blocked by the Supreme Court.

For the first time, Nigeria has been excluded from countries with trapped funds as the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported that $1.7 billion in airline funds are blocked from repatriation by governments as of the end of October 2024.

This is a small improvement compared to the $1.8 billion reported at the end of April. “Over the last six months, we have seen significant reductions in blocked funds in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Algeria and Ethiopia. At the same time, amounts are rising in the XAF /XOF  zones and Mozambique.

“Bolivia has also emerged as a problem, where repatriating sales revenues is becoming increasingly difficult and unsustainable for airlines. This unfortunate game of ‘whack-a-mole’ is unacceptable.  Governments must remove all barriers for airlines to repatriate their revenues from ticket sales and other activities by international agreements and treaty obligations,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

“No country wants to lose aviation connectivity, which drives economic prosperity. But if airlines cannot repatriate their revenues, they cannot be expected to provide a service. Economies will suffer if connectivity collapses. So, it is in everyone’s interest, including governments, to ensure that airlines can repatriate their funds smoothly,” said Walsh.

Nine countries account for 83 percper the airline industry’s blocked funds, amounting to $1.43 billion.

They include Pakistan, XAF Zone, Bangladesh, Algeria,  Lebanon Mozambique, Angola, Eritrea and XOF Zone.

Recalled that in June IATA confirmed that the Central Bank of Nigeria cleared foreign airlines trapped funds worth $831m from June last year to date. The Geneva, Switzerland-based IATA said the development had brought international airlines’ trapped funds globally to about $1.8bn.The association representing international airlines said the remaining $19m was awaiting the CBN verification through commercial banks.

According to IATA, from the peak of about $850m foreign airlines’ funds in Nigeria last June, only $19m is left outstanding.

Pakistan continues to top the list of blocked funds countries at $311 million. This is an improvement from $411 million in April 2024. The main issue is the system of audit and tax exemption certificates which is causing long processing delays.

Bangladesh has seen the amount of blocked funds decrease to $196 million (from $320 million in April). The Central Bank needs to continue to prioritize airlines’ access to foreign exchange in line with international treated obligations.

About $1 billion of airline money blocked from repatriation is in African countries. That is about 59 per cent of the global tally. Over the last six months, there were significant reductions in blocked funds in Algeria ($193 million from $286 million in April) and Ethiopia ($43 million from $149 million in April). At the same time, XAF Zone (+$84 million), Mozambique (+$84 million) and XOF Zone (+$73 million) contributed to the largest increases.

Bolivia is new to the list of blocked fund countries. A further deterioration in the availability of foreign exchange, particularly the US dollar, has resulted in an estimated $42 million in airline funds being blocked in the country.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced its financial outlook for the global airline industry in 2025, showing a growth in revenue to $1.007 trillion on the back of operational cost reduction.

This is an increase of 4.4% from 2024 and will be the first time that industry revenues top the $1 trillion mark. However, expenses are expected to grow by 4.0 per cent to $940 billion. IATA also projects that globally, there would be a slight strengthening of profitability amid ongoing cost and supply chain challenges.

“We’re expecting airlines to deliver a global profit of $36.6 billion in 2025. This will be hard-earned as airlines take advantage of lower oil prices while keeping load factors above 83 percent, tightly controlling costs, investing in decarbonization, and managing the return to more normal growth levels following the extraordinary pandemic recovery. All these efforts will help to mitigate several drags on profitability which are outside of airlines’ control, namely persistent supply chain challenges, infrastructure deficiencies, onerous regulation, and a rising tax burden,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

“In 2025, industry revenues will exceed $1 trillion for the first time. It’s also important to put that into perspective. A trillion dollars is a lot—almost one per cent of the global economy. That makes airlines a strategically important industry. But remember that airlines carry $940 billion in costs, not to mention interest and taxes.

“They retain a net profit margin of just 3.6 per cent. Put another way, the buffer between profit and loss, even in the good year that we are expecting in 2025, is just $7 per passenger. With margins that thin, airlines must continue to watch every cost and insist on similar efficiency across the supply chain—especially from our monopoly infrastructure suppliers who all too often let us down on performance and efficiency,” said Walsh.

Net profits are expected to be $36.6 billion in 2025 for a 3.6 per cent net profit margin. That is a slight improvement from the expected $31.5 billion net profit in 2024 (3.3 per cent net profit margin). The average net profit per passenger is expected to be $7.0 (below the $7.9 high in 2023 but an improvement from $6.4 in 2024).

Operating profit in 2025 is expected to be $67.5 billion for a net operating margin of 6.7 per cent (improved from 6.4% expected in 2024).

The return on invested capital (ROIC) for the global industry is expected to be 6.8 per cent in 2025. While this is an improvement from the 2024 ROIC of 6.6 per cent, the returns for the industry at the global level remain below the weighted average cost of capital. ROIC is the strongest for airlines in Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America, where it did exceed the cost of capital.

Passenger numbers are expected to reach 5.2 billion in 2025, a 6.7 per cent rise compared to 2024 and the first time that the number of passengers has exceeded the five billion mark.

Cargo volumes are expected to reach 72.5 million tonnes, a 5.8 per cent increase from 2024. IATA highlighted the broad benefits of growing connectivity. The most recent estimates show that airline employment is expected to grow to 3.3 million in 2025. Airlines are the core of a global aviation value chain that employs 86.5 million people and generates $4.1 trillion in economic impact, accounting for 3.9 per cent of global GDP (2023 figures).  Connectivity is an economic catalyst for growth in nearly all industries.

“Looking at 2025, for the first time, traveller numbers will exceed five billion and the number of flights will reach 40 million. This growth means that aviation connectivity will be creating and supporting jobs across the global economy.

“The most obvious are the hospitality and retail sectors which will gear up to meet the needs of a growing number of customers. But almost every business benefits from the connectivity that air transport provides, making it easier to meet customers, receive supplies, or transport products. On top of this, growth in aviation also contributes to achieving almost all the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” said Walsh.

Passenger Revenues are expected to reach $705 billion (70 per cent of total revenue) with an additional $145 billion (14.4 per cent of total revenues) from ancillary services in 2025. Travel continues to become more affordable as the passenger yield is expected to fall by 3.4 per cent (ticket and ancillaries). Unit revenues are expected to fall by a more moderate 2.5 per cent.

Seen a different way, the average airfare in 2025, including ancillaries, is expected to be $380, which is 1.8 per cent lower than 2024. In real terms (adjusted for inflation) that represents s 44 per cent drop compared to 2014, indicating that significant value is being passed to consumers in the industry’s continued effort to improve efficiency.

Passenger demand (RPKs) is expected to grow by 8.0 per cent in 2025, which is ahead of a 7.1 per cent expected expansion of capacity (ATK). Aircraft departures are forecast to reach 40 million, an increase of 4.6 per cent from 2024, and the average passenger load factor is anticipated at 83.4 per cent, up 0.4 percentage points from 2024. Africa’s carriers face high operational costs and a low propensity for air travel expenditure in many of their home markets.

A significant issue is a shortage of US dollars in some economies which, along with infrastructure and connectivity challenges hinder the airline industry’s expansion and performance. Despite these obstacles, there is sustained demand for air travel, which is expected to improve the region’s profitability marginally in 2025.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says an estimated 1,134,828 from 251,082 households were internally displaced in Nigeria in 2023.

The 2023 Internally Displaced Persons Report by the NBS released late Monday says that Borno State recorded the highest number of displaced households with 206,753. In the state, 877,299 were internally displaced, representing 77.3 percent of the entire surveyed population.

It discloses that the survey was conducted in 2023 across seven states of Adamawa, Yobe, Borno, Sokoto, Katsina, Benue and Nasarawa.

“The findings show that Boko Haram insurgency reported 81.2 percent, farmers/herders clash (16.2 percent), banditry/kidnapping (1.6 percent) as the major sources of displacements.

“This indicates that the displacement of persons is more human-induced than flooding or any other form of natural disaster.”

The report explains that internal displacement of persons is the forced movement of people within their own country due to conflict, violence, natural disasters, or other crises, without crossing international borders.

According to the report, this constitutes one of the most pressing humanitarian crises in Nigeria as the displacement is induced by a combination of factors such as Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East region, banditry/kidnapping in the North-West region, armed conflict, and communal clashes in other parts of the country.

“Further analysis reveals that out of the total population of surveyed IDPs, 50.3 percent were mainly minors and below the age of 18 years. Only 49.7 percent were within the age of 18 years and above. However, it was observed that 83.4 percent of persons have been displaced over four (4) years.”

By Solomon Odeniyi

Nigeria has ranked fourth among countries whose citizens were granted U.S. citizenship through military naturalization between 2020 and 2024.

During the period under review, the United States naturalised over 52,000 military service members across different countries.

According to data obtained from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on Monday, 3,270 Nigerian-born service members were granted U.S. citizenship, trailing only the Philippines (5,630), Jamaica (5,420), and Mexico with 3,670.

“Service members born in the Philippines, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, and Ghana — the top five countries of birth among those naturalised — comprised over 38% of the naturalizations since FY 2020.

Nigeria has exited the list of countries blocking the repatriation of airline funds, a new report by the International Air Transport Association stated on Monday.

This was as the Geneva, Switzerland-based IATA noted that airlines’ trapped funds globally currently amount to $1.7bn. A small improvement compared to the $1.8bn reported at the end of April.

This latest significant development means Nigerian authorities have resolved the issue of frozen airline revenues, allowing international carriers to access and transfer their funds back to their home countries.

In June, IATA confirmed that the Central Bank of Nigeria cleared foreign airlines trapped funds worth $831m.

The association representing international airlines said the remaining $19m was awaiting the CBN verification through commercial banks.

According to IATA, from the peak of about $850m foreign airlines’ funds in Nigeria last June, only $19m is left outstanding.

But providing new updates following an assessment conducted at the end of October 2024, the international body in a statement on Monday, said nine countries account for 83 per cent of the airline industry’s blocked funds, amounting to $1.43bn.

They include Pakistan, XAF Zone, Bangladesh, Algeria,  Lebanon Mozambique, Angola, Eritrea, and XOF Zone.

 “Over the last six months, we have seen significant reductions in blocked funds in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Algeria, and Ethiopia. At the same time, amounts are rising in the XAF /XOF  zones and Mozambique.

“Bolivia has also emerged as a problem, where repatriating sales revenues is becoming increasingly difficult and unsustainable for airlines. This unfortunate game of ‘whack-a-mole’ is unacceptable.  Governments must remove all barriers for airlines to repatriate their revenues from ticket sales and other activities by international agreements and treaty obligations,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

The report disclosed that Pakistan continues to top the list of blocked funds countries at $311m. This is an improvement from $411m in April 2024. It said the main issue is the system of audit and tax exemption certificates which is causing long processing delays.

Bangladesh has seen the amount of blocked funds decrease to $196m (from $320m in April). The Central Bank needs to continue to prioritise airlines’ access to foreign exchange in line with international treated obligations.

About $1bn of airline money blocked from repatriation is in African countries. That is about 59 per cent of the global tally. Over the last six months, there were significant reductions in blocked funds in Algeria ($193m from $286m in April) and Ethiopia ($43m from $149m in April). At the same time, XAF Zone (+$84m), Mozambique (+$84m) and XOF Zone (+$73m) contributed to the largest increases.

While Bolivia is new to the list of blocked fund countries. A further deterioration in the availability of foreign exchange, particularly the US dollar, has resulted in an estimated $42m in airline funds being blocked in the country.

• Push for confirmation of NCAA DG

The President of the Association of Foreign Airlines and Representatives in Nigeria (AFARN),

Dr. Kingsley Nwokoma, has called for greater investments in infrastructure and human capital development in the aviation sector emphasizing the importance of supporting local airlines pursuing Maintenance, Repair, and Operations (MRO) projects to reduce capital flight.

He said the government needed the input of players in the sector to drive its growth.

The AFARN boss also stressed the need to confirm Capt Chris Najomo who has been leading the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCC) in acting capacity as the substantive NCAA Director-General of the agency.

“A body like the NCAA, the regulator of the aviation industry, should not be politicized given our ratings and commitments as a contracting state in the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) conventions,” he said, stressing the need for swift action to prevent disruptions in the industry’s progress.

He urged the government to recognize stakeholders who have contributed to the industry’s development through advocacy for policies that foster collaboration and innovation.

Speaking at a briefing at the Lagos Airport on the state of the air transport sector in the year winding up, Nwokoma highlighted key strides of the air transport in the country this year saying the experienced significant achievements compared to 2023.

Dr. Nwokoma commended stakeholders for their resilience while emphasizing the need for continued improvements to ensure sustainable growth in the sector.

Reflecting on the past year, he noted that the aviation industry has shown remarkable progress, particularly in light of Nigeria’s vast resources.

He said: “In my humble assessment, I think the industry has fared well, even though I know we can do better given our endowed human, material, and natural resources as a nation,” he said.

Among the year’s milestones was the improvement in Nigeria’s aviation ratings, which rose from 49 per cent to 70 per cent following the adoption of Cape Town Convention (CTC) practice directions.

This move, aimed at reducing operational costs for airlines, he described as a step in the right direction for the industry.

 Nwokoma also commended the Federal Government’s role in facilitating the resumption of Emirates Airlines’ operations in Nigeria and Air Peace’s new routes to London.

For the AFARN president, the relocation of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) headquarters back to Lagos was celebrated as a decision that eases operational burden for workers and stakeholders.

The industry, he said, also achieved a strong pass mark in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) security audit and maintained industrial peace, which he  attributed to the leadership of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Barr. Festus Keyamo.

However, the year according to him is not without its setbacks. The closure of Dana Air operations and delays in appointing a substantive Director-General for the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) were highlighted as areas of concern.

The persistent high cost of aviation fuel, coupled with a soaring exchange rate, has impacted passenger and cargo traffic, he said, created challenges for airline operators and cargo consolidators.

The AFARN president announced that the postponed AFARN annual summit would now be held in the first quarter of 2025 and will feature the induction of individuals who have significantly advanced the aviation industry into the AFARN Hall of Fame.

While details of the summit he promised will be communicated to the media and the public in due course.

Nwokoma expressed optimism for the future of Nigeria’s aviation industry while urging all stakeholders to remain steadfast in their expectations.

By Adekunle Sulaimon

The United States Embassy in Nigeria has reviewed its immigration visa processes for immigrants starting from January 1, 2025.

According to the embassy, applicants with interviews will now visit the Consulate General in Lagos at least twice during the process.

The directive was announced on its official X page on Tuesday.

It read, “For applicants with interviews scheduled after January 1, 2025, you are required to visit the Consulate General in Lagos at least twice during the immigrant visa process.

“This new process is designed to help you prepare for your visa interview and to prevent significant delays in processing your immigrant visa.”

Further checks on the embassy’s website revealed that the first visit to the US Consulate in Lagos would be for an ‘In-Person Document Review’ with a consular staff member, adding, “This review ensures that applicants are prepared for their visa interviews.

It continued, “The review allows applicants to retrieve any missing documents ahead of their visa interviews, helping to avoid delays in application processing.

“The second interview, on the other hand, is with a Consular Officer. The date for this interview will be scheduled for applicants by the National Visa Center (NVC).

“If you do not complete the In-Person Document Review before your visa interview, you will be required to reschedule your appointment.”

On July 2024, The PUNCH reports that the embassy announced its operation in its Abuja and Lagos consulates will be handled by a new visa services provider, starting August 26, 2024.

The decision was announced on the official website and verified social media pages of the American embassy.

BY Victoria Moores

Nigerian carrier Ibom Air is planning to add two or three new Central African destinations in 2025, building on its sole existing intra-African route between Lagos (Nigeria) and Accra (Ghana). Local government-owned Ibom Air flies to seven destinations—six domestic and one intra-African—using a fleet of seven CRJ900s and two Airbus A220-300s. “We’re breaking into regional [flights],” Ibom Air Executive Director and COO George Uriesi told Aviation Week. “We started with Lagos-Accra about a year ago and, from next year, we’re going to expand to two or three other regional destinations.” Uriesi said these three central African destinations will be added during 2025, but he declined to name the destinations just yet. 

The routes will be “intertwined,” meaning they will operate as stops, rather than direct services. Ibom Air has nine more A220-300s scheduled to arrive by 2028, and the company is planning to transition to an all-A220 fleet. Uriesi said Ibom Air has an average load factor of nearly 90%, and the CRJ900s are too small to meet the demand. 

 The A220s have sufficient range for Ibom Air to fly to destinations like Cairo (Egypt), Cape Town (South Africa) and Casablanca (Morocco). But, unlike other African carriers, Ibom Air has no ambitions of branching out into long-haul flights. “Let the Ethiopians and the Egyptians do all of that,” Uriesi said. “We will stay in Africa.” Ibom Air’s priority is maximizing load factors and frequencies, rather than chasing market share or new destinations. 

Six of Ibom Air’s destinations are domestic within Nigeria, operating alongside one regional route to Ghana. “Our strategy is not to expand and stretch ourselves thin but to maintain our footprint where we have frequencies. “We have seven destinations right now, and we’ve kept those seven destinations now for the last three years,” he said. “It doesn’t follow that we have more airplanes, so let’s go to other places. 

No, we expand granularly and we provide frequencies.” Ibom Air does not have any codeshares, but it previously had an interline partnership with now-defunct Nigerian carrier Dana Air. Uriesi is keen to set up new interline partnerships, giving partners access to its Nigerian domestic feeder flights.

“We have a number of potential [interline] partners that we’ve spoken to—a number of international carriers—who have either come to us, or we’ve gone to them. We’re busy discussing, and we’re nearly at the point now where we will actually sign up with them,” Uriesi said. “I’m sure, by next year, we’ll start signing off.”