TheNewsGuru

Tag: Ethiopian Airline

  • Ghost of botched Nigeria Air deal haunts Aviation Ministry

    Ghost of botched Nigeria Air deal haunts Aviation Ministry

    Dr. Ibrahim Abubakar Kana, the new Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development has denied there is a mandate to revive the botched Nigeria Air deal with Ethiopian airline.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) recalls Dr. Kana had during his inaugural statement on Monday at his hand-over ceremony made reference to the revival of the National Carrier Project.

    However, today, the new Permanent Secretary has come forth to say he never received any instruction for the revival of the botched Nigeria Air deal with Ethiopian airline.

    “Since my inaugural statement on Monday at the hand-over ceremony, I have been inundated with inquiries about my reference to the revival of the National Carrier Project.

    “For the avoidance of doubt I never said that there is a mandate to revive the botched Nigeria Air deal with Ethiopian airline. I received no such instruction.

    “I was only referring to the general vision of the Administration to still consider a National Carrier Project if it is favourable to the country and under the guidance and directives of Mr. President and the Honourable Minister of Aviation.

    “I hope this clarifies all the ambiguities surrounding my earlier statement on this issue,” Kana said.

    TNG reports the Nigerian government unveiled the Nigeria Air national carrier project at the Farnborough Air Show in England on 18 July 2018 under Hadi Sirika as Minister of Aviation with Muhammadu Buhari as president.

    The proposed airline was expected to gulp $8.8 million in preliminary cost and $300 million as take-off cost. Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and Compilation of Budgetary Allocations show that the federal government spent N85.42 billion on transaction advisers, working capital and consultancy bills for Nigeria Air between 2016 and 2023.

    Despite the huge amount spent on the national carrier, the airline failed to secure Air Operating Certificate, an approval granted by a Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority to an aircraft operator to allow it to use aircraft for commercial flight operations. It also failed secure aircraft for operations.

    After the unveiling of Nigeria Air on May 27, 2023, reports emerged that the minister had chartered an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft for the launch. However, Nigeria’s former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika says contrary to speculations, only N3 billion was spent on the National carrier project also known as Nigeria Air, adding he never spent N85 billion.

    The FG proposed the new national carrier, having been without a national carrier for over two decades after Nigeria Airways stopped operating in 2003 and was liquidated in 2004. The government decided to liquidate the airline due to its declining performance and debts.

    After several promises to give Nigerians a national carrier, former Nigerian Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika officially unveiled Nigeria Air in Abuja on May 27, 2023, just 48 hours before the end of his tenure.

    The minister had previously disclosed that Nigeria Air would begin operation before the swearing-in of a new administration on May 29, 2023. However, the airline did not start operations in April 2022 as planned.

    The national carrier, which was first unveiled at the Farnborough International Airshow in London in 2018, was officially unveiled and expected to operate under a shared ownership arrangement between the Federal Government, shareholders and a partnering airline, Ethiopian Airlines.

    The plan was for the Ethiopian airline to manage its operations under a management contract, aiming to connect the local Nigerian market with international markets and destinations.

    The now-defunct Nigeria Airways was established in August 1958, after the dissolution of the West African Airways Corporation.

    It finally ceased operations in 2003 owing to military incursion, mismanagement, corruption and bad debts and was liquidated in 2004.

    In its heydays, Nigeria Airways had over 30 aircraft. Nigeria Airways was later succeeded by Virgin Nigeria, and the ground facilities were taken over by Arik Air.

  • REVEALED: Why Nigeria Air aircraft was chartered from Ethiopian airline

    REVEALED: Why Nigeria Air aircraft was chartered from Ethiopian airline

    Capt. Dapo Olumide, the acting Managing Director of the Nigeria Air, says the aircraft that flew in with the logo of the airline was chartered from the Ethiopian Airline for the purpose of unveiling the logo.

    Olumide said this on Tuesday in Abuja, when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Aviation.

    He said that the airline had yet to secure an operating licence for full flight operations, saying that the processes were still at the early stages.

    Olumide said that aircraft was used pending the completion of the processes required for the operation of the airline.

    He said his mandate was to secure an air operating certificate for the airline not necessarily to operate the airline but to secure a licence to fly.

    “The aircraft that came in and left was a legitimate charter flight.

    “Anyone of us here if we have a destination wedding in Senegal, we can charter an aircraft.

    “You don’t need to have a licence to do that, you just charter an aircraft, an aircraft you paid for it, it will be brought here, take your passengers and off you go.

    “And that is what we did. but in this case, it was to unveil the Logo of Nigeria Air.

    “Ever since 2018, all you have ever seen about Nigeria Air were pictures, drawings not the real aircraft, and we thought it was time to show what the real aircraft will look like also to let shareholders see,” Olumide said.

    He added:“We have institutional investors, they are not in aviation but they are putting their money for 10 to 15 years, so they need to see what the actual aircraft will look like.

    “So we brought it in here to show them what the aircraft will look like, then the social media dimension came into it.

    “For us to get that licence which is my mandate, we must among other things have three aircraft before the NCAA will give us a licence and those three aircraft must be Nigerian registered aircraft.

    “So when this aircraft came on a chartered flight, everybody said we have launched Nigeria Air, there are learned people in the aviation industry who could have countered that when social media came out, but they chose not to.”

    Earlier, the Chairman of the Committee, Sen.Biodun Olujimi said it was unfortunate that the former Minister of Aviation failed to involve the committee and other stakeholders in the Air Nigeria project.

    “To state the obvious, he failed to carry members of the Committee along in virtually all ramifications despite the degree of respect members accorded him any time he was invited for meetings.”

  • Senate seeks ban on Ethiopian airline

    Senate seeks ban on Ethiopian airline

    The Senate on Friday urged the Federal Government to place a temporary ban on Ethiopian airline flights to curb further spread of Coronavirus (Covid-19) to Nigeria.

    The call, according to the Chairman Senate Committee on Primary Healthcare and Communicable Diseases, Senator Chukwuka Utazi, became necessary because the airline operates flights between China and Nigeria for up to 35 times every week.

    Utazi’s reaction was contained in a statement in Abuja following a confirmed case of the Coronavirus disease infection in Lagos.

    He also urged the government to immediately constitute a “Health War Room” to coordinate screening at all entry points into the country.

    He urged Nigerians not to panic following the disease outbreak in Lagos but take preventive measures.

    He argued that if American can place a flight ban on flights from China, Nigeria ought to do same with airlines to transverse between Nigeria and China on a daily basis.

    Utazi said: “My reaction following the press release on the confirmed case of Coronavirus infected patient in Lagos State of an Italian National, by the Hon Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, is that our citizens should instead of panic, should rather be conscious and observe all the safety and precautionary measures issued by the Ministry of Health in order to avoid contracting the ailment, as prevention is better than cure.

    “I enjoin citizens to be confident of the Federal Government’s capacity and readiness to contain any spread of the disease through the Ministry of Health’s National Centre for Disease Control.

    “In the same breath, I implore the Federal Ministry of Health, as a matter of urgency, to put up a ‘Health War Room’ with trained health personnel that will coordinate and man all the entry points into the country, with a view to screening on board all passengers even before permitting them to disembark from any of their chosen means of transportation.

    “In addition, isolation and quarantine facilities must of necessity be in place in case of emergency.

    “I urge the Presidency to kindly direct the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, to issue a temporary ban on the Ethiopian Airlines flights to and from China, estimated to be 35 times every week, till further notice.

    “This is in recognition of the fact that China remains the main source of Coronavirus infection and spread.

    “Love of country and national interest should be uppermost in our minds, and should be above any fiduciary consideration at this point in time.

    “If developed countries with better and far advanced technology/response mechanisms to handle this epidemic have placed flight ban on China, I wonder why Nigeria is still waiting to do the needful.

    “Time is of the essence and the health of Nigerians should come first before any other political and economic considerations. I trust the Presidency to be on the side of Nigerians.”

  • Ethiopia crash: France commences Boeing black box data review

    Investigators in France on Friday examined the black boxes of a Boeing 737 Max that crashed in Ethiopia as a spooked global airline industry waited to see if the cause was similar to the disaster in Indonesia months before.

    Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 crashed soon after take-off from Addis Ababa last weekend, killing all 157 people on board.

    Also, in the second such calamity involving Boeing’s flagship new model after a jet came down off Indonesia in October with 189 people on board.

    Regulators have grounded the 737 Max around the world, while the U.S. plane-maker has halted next deliveries of the several thousand planes on order for a model intended to be the future industry workhorse.

    Parallels between the twin disasters have frightened passengers worldwide and wiped more than 26 billion dollars off Boeing’s share price.

    The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has said information from the wreckage in Ethiopia plus newly-refined data about its flight path indicated some similarities.

    According to two sources, investigators found a piece of a stabiliser in the wreckage of the Ethiopian jet set in an unusual position similar to that of the Lion Air plane in Indonesia.

    The stabiliser on the tail section pitches the nose up and down.

    The FAA and Boeing declined to comment.

    The Ethiopian pilot had reported internal problems and asked to return to Addis Ababa in his last communications.

    Pilots worldwide were waiting anxiously for the outcome of the investigation, Paul Gichinga, former Head of the Kenya Airline Pilots Association, said.

    “Looking at the crash site photos, the aircraft appears to have nose-dived … It looks like they were not in control of the aircraft at impact,’’ he said.

    “The pilot must have gotten some sort of indication that maybe the airspeed was unreliable or something and decided, instead of climbing and going to sort out the problem up there, the best thing was to return to have it sorted,’’ he said.

    Boeing, the world’s biggest plane maker, has said the 737 Max is safe.

    It continued to produce at full speed at its factory near Seattle but paused shipments.

    France’s Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) has possession of the flight data and cockpit voice recorders, though Ethiopia is formally leading the investigation and U.S. experts are in Paris and Addis Ababa too.

    U.S. lawmakers said on Thursday the 737 Max fleet would be grounded for weeks if not longer until a software upgrade could be tested and installed.

    Boeing has said it would roll out the improvement in the coming weeks.

    The New York Times cited a person, who reviewed air traffic communications as saying the Ethiopian captain had reported a “flight control” problem a minute after departure as the jet was well below the minimum safe height from the ground during a climb.

    After being cleared by the control room to turn back, the jet climbed to an unusually high altitude and disappeared from the radar over a restricted military zone, the person cited by the newspaper added.

    Contact with air controllers was lost five minutes after take-off, it said.

    In Ethiopia, grieving relatives have been visiting the charred and debris-strewn field where the jet came down, to pay last respects.

    Only fragments remain, meaning it may take weeks or months to identify all the victims, who came from 35 nations.

    Some families stormed out of a meeting with Ethiopian Airlines on Thursday complaining about a lack of information.

    Israeli national, Ilan Matsliah, flew to Ethiopia hours after confirming his older brother was a passenger, thinking it would not take beyond 24 hours to find any remains for burial in accordance with Jewish tradition.

    “More than 24 hours is a problem for us.

    “But I have been here for more than 96 hours,’’ the 46-year said.

    “We are now stuck in the same place, the same as Monday. We are very emotional.’’

    With heightened global scrutiny, the head of Indonesia’s transport safety committee said a report into the Lion Air crash would be speeded up so it could be released in July to August, months earlier than originally expected.

    A software fix for the 737 Max that Boeing has been working on since the Lion Air crash will take months to complete, the FAA said on Wednesday.

    A November preliminary report, before the retrieval of the cockpit voice recorder, focused on maintenance and training and the response of a Boeing anti-stall system to a recently replaced sensor but gave no reason for the crash.

  • Air crash: Ethiopian Airlines opens condolence registers in Nigeria

    The Management of Ethiopian Airlines in Nigeria has opened Condolence Registers at their country offices in Abuja, Lagos, Kano and Enugu for the victims of the flight that crashed on March 10, six minutes after take off.

    A statement by the airline on Tuesday said that the General Manager of Ethiopian Airlines in Nigeria, Firihiewot Mekonnen, received the first set of visitors at the office in Lagos.

    It added that the Managing Director, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) Mr Saleh Dunoma was received at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport by the Airlines’ Sales and Traffic Manager, Abuja, Tilahun Tadesse.

    Mekonnen thanked Nigerians for standing with Ethiopia and Ethiopian Airlines in this moment of grief.

    “We thank the Nigerian President and the good people of Nigeria for the condolence message from the Government of Nigeria.

    “We have always counted on Nigeria as an African Partner and Brother and this sad occasion once again proves the bond.

    “We commiserate with Nigeria over the loss to humanity of the two great Nigerians on that flight.

    “We have since reached out to the families involved because Ethiopian Airlines will not abandon its responsibilities to the victims,” she said.

    Recall that two Nigerians, Professor Pius Adesanmi and Ambassador Bashua Abiodun were among those involved in the crash.

    Meanwhile, the airlines has grounded all B737-8Max Airplanes in its fleet. Ethiopian Airlines does not use the B737 Max on its Nigerian Routes.

    It said that B777, B787 Dreamliner and the Airbus A350 were the Aircraft deployed daily to Nigeria.

  • Ethiopian Airline’s bid of Arik: Aviation authorities shameless, desperate – Shareholders

    Arik Air shareholders have condemned the reported plan by the aviation authorities to hand over the airline to Ethiopian Airlines.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the Ethiopian Airlines on Wednesday formally expressed its bid to take over the management of Arik Air, which the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) took over early this year.

    Speaking on behalf of the shareholders, former Vice President of the airline, Senator Anietie Okon in an interview with ThisDay said: “This is not coming as a surprise since Ethiopian Airlines has a commercial objective of dominating Africa.

    “What is a surprise is the shamelessness and desperation of our aviation authorities to mortgage the future of our country for gold and silver.

    “Arik Air, a wholly owned Nigerian company operated without hitch for 10 years. It started when naira was 150/$1 and fuel was 97 per litre and managed without any significant increase in fares, it survived for 10 years in a very hostile operations environment, paying loans it obtained in Dollars and salaries to over 2000 employees.

    “The company ran into heavy clouds as the economy went into recession and next line of action was for AMCON to take it over and now hurrying to hand it over to a foreign company that will sack most of the indigenous staff of the airline.”

    He decried “the level of lack of patriotism and shamelessness by some people in government offices” and described it as “appalling and desecration of national decency and honor.

    “I really will not blame Ethiopian. It is the gullible Nigerians who will sell his countrymen for peanuts. The aviation industry is losing Nigerian workers every day because the domestic airlines are dying.

    “This is an industry that is projected to employ about 9.7 million Nigerians if well managed but everything is being handed over to foreign companies that will sack our people.

    “They should look at why Nigerian Airlines don’t survive for a long time. They should look at their policies and operating environment in the country, which to us is an indictment of the country itself.

    “It is further complicated with the fact that Nigeria generates the traffic that even all regional carriers including the famous Ethiopian Airlines depend on in West and Central Africa.

    “Now you will surrender your own airline to a foreign competing airline that had suggested the liquidation of same entity. This raises more questions than answers,” Okon explained.

     

  • Ethiopian Airline expresses bid to take over Nigeria’s Arik Air

    Ethiopian Airlines has submitted a formal offer to take charge of troubled carrier Arik Air, which accounts for more than half of Nigerian air passenger traffic.

    “We have outlined our terms and conditions to the Nigerian government and we are waiting to see if they agree,” Esayas WoldeMariam, Ethiopian’s managing director of international services, told CNN. “We are capable and desirous of handling the airline.”

    WoldeMariam did not specify details of the offer, but added that he expects to face competition for Arik from international airlines.

    Nigeria’s Ministry of Aviation did not respond to a request for comment but Godfrey Odudigbo, minister plenipotentiary at the Nigerian embassy in Addis Ababa, said that negotiations over Arik could be concluded by the end of the year.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Arik has been operated by the state-owned Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) since a government bailout in February.

    The bailout was forced by a prolonged crisis that saw services canceled, staff unpaid, and mounting debt.

    Arik’s Managing Director Captain Roy Ilegbodu reported in August that the company had stabilized under AMCON’s leadership, with services running smoothly and salaries regularly paid.

    But the offer from Ethiopian may be attractive for a cash-strapped government struggling through a prolonged recession.

    By contrast, Ethiopian Airlines is one of the fastest-growing and most profitable carriers on the continent.

    The airline reported a 10 percent increase in revenue to $2.4 billion for 2015/16, with a 70 percent rise in profits, and passenger numbers climbed 18 percent to 7.6 million.

    Ethiopian is pursuing ambitious development at home, with the $345 million expansion of Addis Ababa’s Bole International Airport, and abroad, having acquired a 49 percent stake in Malawian Airlines and 40 percent of ASKY Airlines in Togo.

    Nigeria, with the largest population in Africa and high demand for air travel, is an attractive prospect for an ambitious airline. But it is unlikely to offer a smooth ride.

    A deal could benefit both parties, according to aviation industry analysts.

    “It makes sense for the Nigerian government to find a new partner for management of Arik, as it is a drain on their finances,” says Oliver Clark, Sub-Saharan Africa specialist at the Flight Global consultancy. “Ethiopian has a good track record of taking over management with airlines such as ASKY.”

    Ivan Nadalet, vice president at industry analyst CH Aviation, agrees that a takeover by Ethiopian could be “very beneficial” for Arik. But he believes the Nigerian government must resolve the company’s debts, reported to be more than $800 million, to create the conditions for recovery.

    “Putting in place a good management team without addressing the all-important issue of debt is like getting Usain Bolt to run the 100 meters with a 200 kilogram millstone around his neck,” says Nadalet.

    “Arik may make progress in the short-term, but sooner or later, someone somewhere is going to have to bite the bullet [and clear the debt].”

    “The real question here is: how far is the Nigerian government really willing to go to save Arik Air?”

    The company’s future is likely to become clearer in the coming months. But for now, Nigeria’s national carrier and its passengers remain up in the air.

  • Ethiopian Airline airlifts 4,500 passengers from Kaduna Airport in 28 days

    Ethiopian Airline airlifts 4,500 passengers from Kaduna Airport in 28 days

    Ethiopian Airlines says it has airlifted over 4,500 passengers from Kaduna International Airport since it commenced flight operations from the airport on March 8.

    Mrs Firiehiwot Mekonnen, the airline’s Traffic and Sales Manager, told the newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja that it had so far operated 28 flights from the airport.

    “We have airlifted more than 4,500 passengers; we also operated 28 flights from March 8 to April 4 and our experience so far is good.

    “Ethiopian Airlines, having a vision of being the leading aviation group, is working hard to have more than 120 destinations as one of the vision 2025 goals,” she said.

    Mekonnen described as encouraging the level of work so far done on the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja and expressed optimism that the airport would be reopened on April 19.

    She, however, urged the contractor to maintain the high pace of work on the runway and ensure that the deadline was met.

    “We have not seen the runway yet but from the report we are getting we think the government will meet the deadline,” she said.

    TheNewsGuru.com recalls that the Minister of State, Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika had on March 30, disclosed that over 50 international flights had been operated from Kaduna airport with about 4,000 international passengers in three weeks.

    He added that about 73,000 domestic passengers had been airlifted with about 1,119 aircraft movements for domestic operations.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Ethiopian Airline is the only foreign airline operating from Kaduna, while two Nigerian airlines, Arik and Medview, also operate international flights from the airport.

    As at March 29, Arik had airlifted about 165 international passengers with 11 aircraft movements for both arrivals and departures.

    TheNewsGuru.com recalls that the Federal Government shut Abuja airport on March 8 for six weeks to carry out major repairs on its 3.6 km runway.

    According to the minister, the rehabilitation work has reached 75 per cent completion.