Tag Archives: AIRPORTS

FG To Embark On Construction Of Four New Runways

Posted on by
12

The Federal Government says four new runways will soon be constructed at four international airports in Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano and Lagos.

The Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, disclosed this on Tuesday when he led the Minister of Information around facilities at the Kaduna International Airport.

The Minister added that the expansion of the runways at the four airports would offer more direct local and international flights, as well as eliminate delays often experienced in the course of landing and taking off of aircraft.

“There will be a second runway in Abuja. Hopefully within the next 24 months, we would have a new runway.

“And then there is a second runway in Kano (the military runway), a second runway in Lagos and a second runway in Port Harcourt,” Mr Sirika said.

The Minister of Information, Mr Lai Mohammed, on his part briefed reporters on the Federal Government’s plan of a complete makeover on some of the airports across the country.

“As a government, we’ve put in place to the best of our ability, arrangements that will ensure security and also guarantee safety of operation both on tarmac and off tarmac, and on route,” he said.

 

Source: Channels TV

Nigerian Government installs windshear alert system in 13 airports.

Posted on by
Reply

The Federal Government has installed the Low Level Windshear Alert System, LLWAS, at the Umar Musa Yar’Adua Airport Katsina and 12 others to ensure safety.

While inaugurating the facility at the airport on Sunday, the Minister of State, Aviation, Hadi Sirika, explained that the facility detects dangerous wind shear that drops aircraft in low altitudes.

He said that the Katsina airport was the 13th airport in the country to have the safety facility installed.

Mr. Sirika said that windshear had previously caused air fatalities in Nigeria, adding that the most recent was the Sosoliso aircraft which crashed in Port Harcourt on December 10, 2005.

He gave other instance as the ADC aircraft which crashed while attempting to take-off from Abuja airport on October 29, 2006 with 96 fatalities including the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Maccido.

He listed other airports with the facility built by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) as Abuja, Benin, Calabar, Enugu, Ilorin, Kaduna, Kaduna, Kano, Lagos, Owerri, Port Harcourt, Sokoto and Yola.

“Weather phenomena generally affect air navigation and windshear is one of the most hazardous weather events to aircraft.

A recent study by the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) and NiMet established that windshear is prevalent in all parts of Nigeria.

“Even the AIB aircraft accidents investigations also found out that windshear phenomenon was linked to some accidents.

“Aviation safety and security are top priority issues for the present government.

“The successful installation of LLWAS at 13 airports in the country by NiMet is therefore in consonance with the aviation safety policy of this administration.

“The agency has procured and installed other weather monitoring equipment including Meteorological image receivers.

“It has increased the number of its upper stations to eight and established a modern ICT infrastructure, which includes, computer clusters, for numeric weather prediction (NWP)” he said.

The NiMet Director General, Anthony Anuforom, further explained that the windshear at the Katsina airport had the capacity to detect calm, steady winds, wind shifts in relation to the runway.

Mr. Anuforom said the facility, built from NiMet internally generated revenue, is in line with the global best practices.

He also indicated that NiMET is taking the Meteorological services provided by it beyond the aviation sector to agriculture, and other sectors.

Mr. Anuforom explained that windshear was a weather phenomenon that occurred when there was a sudden change in the speed and direction of wind.

According to him, windshear was first identified in Nigeria in 1956, when an aircraft taking off from Kano airport encountered a windshear and crashed with 32 fatalities.

“Fortunately, through LLWAS, it is now possible to detect windshear around an airport and issue early warning to the pilots.

“This enables him or her to take necessary safety precautions and avert crashing,” he said.

Airports: Concessioning To Wait Until N120bn Fund Probe Over – Reps

Posted on by
1

The House of Representatives has called on the minister of state for aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, to suspend plans on the proposed concession of airports until he is able to brief the House as well as Nigerians, the benefits of the concession as well as how it will tackle the challenges the aviation sector faces.

It also called for the probe of the former minister of aviation, Sen. Stella Oduah, over the diversion of the N120 billion aviation intervention fund provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2012.

These were part of recommendations of the report of the House Committee on Aviation on the investigation into how to rescue the airline industry from imminent collapse, which was considered yesterday.

The House is also to invite Sen. Sirika to brief it on his plans and programmes for the aviation sector, including the current status of the ongoing remodelling of international airports, the reasons behind the scope and design of the remodelling. He is also to provide detailed drawings and specifications of current design in order to enable the ascertainment of the action cost of ongoing work compared to the loan received.

The report’s recommendations include: “Urge the minister of state, aviation, to stay action on the proposed concession of airports until the minister has been able to brief the House and Nigerians on how the proposed concession will remedy the challenges facing the sector and benefit consumer.

“Refrain from taking any action on the concession agreement between FAAN, and Bi-Courtney till the case is determined by the Supreme Court.

“Invite the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria and airline operators (Domestic and International) to deliberate on the possibilities of CBN’s intervention in the crisis of foreign exchange for the airline industry.

“Call on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the diversion of the N120 billion aviation intervention fund provided by the CBN in 2012.

“Meet with the management of Aviation Regulatory Agencies (FAAN, NCAA, NAMA, AIB, etc) to deliberate on the possibilities of denominating the aviation sector in local currency (Naira).

“Urge the management of Arik Air to reconcile its accounts with FAAN with a view to paying off its debts”.

The committee also recommended that the House invite Asset Management of Nigeria (AMCON) to appear before the it and fully brief the House of its plan of action to resuscitate the airline, Aero Contractors.

It further urged the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to, as a matter of urgency, make aviation fuel available regularly at affordable prices and make effort  to refine aviation fuel (Jet 1) locally.

Credit:

http://leadership.ng/news/cover-stories/560921/airports-concessioning-to-wait-until-n120bn-fund-probe-over-reps

Nigerian Airlines Delayed 7,722 Flights in 3 Months

Posted on by
41

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has said domestic airlines operating in the country recorded 7,722 cases of delayed flights in the third quarter of 2016.

This is contained in a document issued by the NCAA’s Consumer Protection Department which was obtained on Monday by NAN in Lagos.

The document indicated that 13,097 flights were operated by eight domestic airlines during the period under review, while 253 flights were cancelled.

It said the airlines in operation were Aero Contractors, Arik Air, Air Peace, Azman Air, Dana Air, First Nation, Med-View and Overland.

Arik, which operated 4,882 flights, topped the chart of delayed and cancelled flights with 2,824 and 128 respectively.

This was closely followed by Air Peace, which recorded 1,383 delayed flights and 16 cancellations out of its 2,754 flight operations.

Dana Air operated 1,665 flights with 1,160 incidences of delayed flights and one cancellation.

The airlines had attributed the delays and cancellations to the lingering scarcity of aviation fuel in the country.

However, in a recent meeting with airline operators, Hadi Sirika, the minister of state, aviation, assured them that the government was working assiduously to end the scarcity of the product.

As part of the move, Sirika also held a meeting with oil marketers who informed him of their challenges regarding the importation, supply and distribution of aviation fuel to the airlines.

10 World’s Best Airports For 2016 Announced (SEE LIST)

Posted on by
Reply
For the fourth year in a row, Singapore Changi Airport has clinched the World’s Best Airport title at the annual SkyTrax World Airport Awards, announced Wednesday in Cologne, Germany.
The Skytrax awards are based on millions of votes collected in passenger surveys.
Many of those passing through the island city-state are clearly pleased with the airport’s innovations, such as two 24-hour movie theaters screening the latest blockbusters for free, a rooftop swimming pool and a butterfly garden.
“To be named the World’s Best Airport by SkyTrax for the fourth year running is a significant achievement for Changi Airport and a clear affirmation that we continue to hit the right notes in our pursuit of service excellence,” airport CEO Lee Seow Hiang said in a statement issued by SkyTrax.

2016 SkyTrax World Airport Awards

1. Singapore Changi Airport
2. Incheon International Airport (South Korea)
3. Munich Airport (Germany)
4. Tokyo International Airport Haneda
5. Hong Kong International Airport
6. Chubu Centrair International Airport (Nagoya, Japan)
7. Zurich Airport (Switzerland)
8. London Heathrow Airport
9. Kansai International Airport (Osaka, Japan)
10. Hamad International Airport (Doha, Qatar)
Read More: CNN

Nigerian Police Deploys Bomb Detection Squad To Airports Ahead Of Christmas Celebration

Posted on by
1

The Nigerian Police Force has deployed its Bomb Detection Unit to help beef up security at various airports in the country ahead of the forthcoming Christmas celebration.

A statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by Yakubu Dati, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, General Manager, Corporate Affairs, said the deployment was part of the security and safety measures.

It said that the deployment of the police bomb detection unit to the airports was to complement the effort of FAAN’s security personnel at various security screening points to ensure a hitch-free celebration.

The statement quoted Mr. Dati as saying that necessary operational and security measures had been put in place at all the airports to ensure free flow of passengers and cargo during the yuletide.

“Passenger facilitation at all our airports has also been enhanced by the installation of more modern and bigger conveyor belts and metal walk-through detectors.

“The expansion and modernisation of all the airport terminals now provide better ambience and more space for restaurants at the terminals, as well as newly opened duty free shops,” Mr. Dati added.

Credit: PremiumTimes

Aviation Unions To Shut Airports Midnight Sunday

Posted on by
Reply

Airports across the country are to be shut down on Monday as the two leading unions in the sector yesterday threatened to shut down Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA by midnight on Sunday.

The unions, National Union of Air Transport Employees, NUATE, and National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers, NAAPE, in a letter dated 21st October, 2015 to their members and made available to our correspondent accused NCAA of not adhering to the condition of service with respect to promotion of workers and other welfare issues.

The letter jointly signed by Secretary General, NUATE and Secretary General NAAPE, Comrades Olayinka Abioye and Aba Ocheme threatened to shut down the agency from midnight Sunday until further notice.

The unions insisted that the withdrawal of service by the workers became paramount in order to safeguard the integrity of NCAA’s condition of service.

Credit: NationalMirror

Port Harcourt Tops List Of The World’s Worst Airports

Posted on by
11

This year’s survey, which asked fliers to identify the world’s worst and best aviation terminals, attracted 26,297 qualifying responses.
Sleeping in Airports’ readers were asked to judge facilities in four categories: comfort, conveniences, cleanliness and customer service.

What landed Port Harcourt at the top of the pile? Respondents reportedly complained about unpleasant and unhelpful staff, alleged corruption, a severe lack of seating, broken air-conditioning and the fact that the arrivals hall was inside a tent.

“The good news is that some areas of the terminal have been recently renovated, meaning you can expect actual walls, floors and windows,” says the website.

“Though it is a far cry from reasonable, improvements are being made.”

CNN has asked for a comment from aviation authorities in Nigeria, but so far no response.

Remarkably, Port Harcourt didn’t even appear on last year’s worst airports list.

There were quite a few repeat offenders on this year’s list though, as well as some notable omissions.

Filipinos will be pleased to hear their long maligned Ninoy Aquino International Airport Manila Airport, crowned worst airport for three years in a row before slipping to fourth place last year, didn’t even make this year’s top 10.

Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah King Abdulaziz International Airport held onto its position as world’s second worst airport.

Read More: thisdaylive

Kim Jong-Un Shows Off Airport Designed By Architect He Likely Had Executed

Posted on by
Reply

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may have executed the chief architect of  the  new international Pyongyang airport…This news comes after he was pictured touring the building with his wife last week(above)..According to reports, the architect may have been  executed because Kim didn’t like the design.

The project is the country’s latest bid to appeal to potential tourists since Kim ascended to power in North Korea three years ago and features a jewellery store, coffee bar, a pharmacy, a chocolate fountain and other luxury amenities.

Until his disappearance last year, Ma Won Chun, was North Korea’s director of the Designing Department of the National Defence Commission.His execution was confirmed when he was noticeably absent from the press photos.

Chun was the chief architect behind North Korea’s biggest government projects when he, along with five other high-level officials, were reportedly killed during one of Kim’s purges.
Ma was executed in November 2014 “for corrupt practices and failure to follow orders,” according to the Diplomat, a news outlet that covers the Asia Pacific.

His death coincided with a report explaining that airport renovations were being suspended because of Kim’s dissatisfaction.Defects were manifested in the last phase of the construction of the Terminal 2 because the designers failed to bear in mind the party’s idea of architectural beauty that is the life and soul and core in architecture to preserve the character and national identity.”