08.05.2022 - 22:06 UTC
Nigeria's commercial carriers have called off plans to unilaterally suspend all flights from Monday, May 8, after the federal government said it would "urgently intervene" and assist them given untenable Jet A1 fuel prices.
Last week, the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) told Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika that its members - MaxAir (Nigeria), United Nigeria Airlines, Air Peace, Arik Air, Aero Contractors, Azman Air, and Dana Air - could no longer operate sustainably given the continued erosion of their profitability. Another AON member, Ibom Air, chose not to participate.
“Over time, the aviation fuel price (Jet A1) has risen from NGN190 naira (USD0.46) per litre to NGN700 (USD1.69) currently. No airline in the world can absorb this kind of sudden shock from such an astronomical rise over a short period. While aviation fuel worldwide is said to cost about 40% of an airline’s operating cost globally, the present hike has shot Nigeria’s operating cost up to about 95%.”
Sirika subsequently appealed to AON to defer the suspension adding...
16.03.2022 - 10:54 UTC
Six Nigerian airlines have come together in what they term the "Spring Alliance" aimed at commercial cooperation and operational support to improve service delivery and reduce flight delays.
The members include Air Peace, Azman Air, Arik Air, Aero Contractors, United Nigeria, and MaxAir (Nigeria) (VM, Katsina), all of which signed a commercial cooperation agreement in Lagos on March 8, 2022, according to local news reports.
Speaking at a joint media conference, Aero Contractors Managing Director Abdullahi Mahmood labelled it "a historic move" to improve passenger service in Nigeria. "Flight delays are caused by problems that passengers do not know [about]. It is a challenging situation that we find ourselves in, but we are all in this together," he said.
More than half of the 74,000 domestic flights in Nigeria in 2021 were delayed, according to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). Of 41,328 flights delayed, 24% were operated by Air Peace, 13% by Dana Air (9J, Lagos) and Arik Air respectively, and 6% by Ibom Air (QI,...
08.11.2021 - 14:03 UTC
Azman Air (AZM, Kano) is reportedly in trouble with authorities again after lawmakers filed a NGN5 billion naira (USD12.1 million) damages claim against the airline over a delayed flight.
In case number CV/2884/2021 filed by their lawyer, Nkemakolam Okoro, at the Federal High Court in Abuja on November 1, five federal parliamentarians and four Nigerian nationals are claiming damages after their September 22 flight ZQ2332, from Kano to Abuja, was delayed by almost 12 hours from around noon until after midnight the next day, reports the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
They alleged the delay was a breach of the air carriage contract between the airline and its passengers, which had also caused them “psychological and emotional trauma, public embarrassment” and loss of legislative hours in the National Assembly, he said. The MPs involved are Agunsoye Rotimi, Benjamin Kalu, Ikengbo Dele Gboluga, Bala Kokani, Eke Dede, with the additional claimants being Rijau Shehu Saleh, Henry Archibong, Kabo Abdullahi Alhassan, and Ahmed Mariya Bashir.
They are also demanding a written public apology...
30.08.2021 - 10:52 UTC
Azman Air (AZM, Kano) has deployed its sole widebody aircraft, an A340-600, into commercial service after completing its type certification with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). The privately-owned airline said 5N-AAM (msn 765) had been recruited to conduct evacuation charters from Dushanbe in Tajikistan to "various European countries" without any further details.
The 15.1-year-old ex-Virgin Atlantic quadjet was ferried from Kano to Dushanbe on a direct flight on August 26, 2021, but has yet to begin operating charters out of the Tajik airport, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows.
The Nigerian carrier took delivery of the jet in December 2020, following which it set about type certification. The 409-seat aircraft operated several domestic flights, most likely for proving purposes, and flights to Dakar Blaise Diagne Int'l and Nassau Int'l in June 2021.
Azman Air, which was grounded between March and May 2021 by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) due to safety concerns, also operates two B737-300s and four B737-500s on a domestic network connecting...