Tag Archives: Stranded

Air Passengers Stranded As Aviation Fuel Scarcity Bites Harder Nationwide

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Air passengers in Nigeria are stranded at airports nationwide, as airline operators jostle for aviation fuel, amidst scarcity that is getting worse.

On Tuesday, the passengers, some of whom were on transit, waited endlessly for the departure hall. While few were lucky to later travel, others were later informed that their scheduled flights had been cancelled.

Aviation fuel, otherwise called Jet-A1, is a specialised type of petroleum-based fuel used to power aircraft and normally accounts for over 30 per cent of operation cost of an airline.

Jet-A1 is 100 per cent imported into Nigeria and subject to fluctuations in the foreign exchange market. In the last 12 months in Nigeria, aviation fuel has steadily climbed from N104 to N240 per litre in Lagos and as high as N270 in northern part of the country.

Flight delays and outright cancellations means that air travelers are unable to meet scheduled appointments at their respective destinations. In extreme cases, this may also result to huge loss of revenues for those hoping to seal some business deals.

At the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) of Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, for instance, about three out of every four flights were cancelled, with operators citing “operational reasons”.

The Guardian learnt that one of the airlines operating at the GAT, in fact, cancelled all flights on Monday, and left passengers to learn of the development on getting to the airport.

At the Murtala Muhammed Airport II (MMA2) Terminal, also in Lagos, airlines like First Nation, Med-View, Azman and Dana Air were carrying out services but behind schedule.

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http://guardian.ng/business-services/air-passengers-stranded-as-aviation-fuel-scarcity-bites-harder-nationwide/

162 ‘Stranded’ Nigerians Return From Libya

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162 Nigerians who were said to have been stranded in Libya have returned to Nigeria, it was learnt.
The returnees made up of 132 men, 27 women and three children arrived the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja Lagos yesterday aboard a Chadames Air aircraft marked 5A WAT.

Sources said they arrived the country through the help of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in collaboration with the Nigerian Embassy in Libya.
Officials say this would be the second time IOM would aid Nigerians’ return home from the North American country while another set of returnees is expected any moment from now.
Forty-one Nigerians were recently deported from the same country for immigration related offences.
The returnees were received at the airport by officials from the Port Health Services, Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP).
Three of the returnees were ill, with two brought in a stretcher and ferried into a waiting ambulance provided by NEMA.
IOM’s Operations Assistant, Mr. Juma Ben Hassan disclosed that one of the male returnees had a motor accident while the one was a victim of fire disaster.
NEMA officials took the returnees for profiling before sending them to their respective states to reunite with their families.

Credit: DailyTimes

Dana Air Pilots Go On Strike, Passengers Stranded

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Dana Air pilots have gone on strike in protest of the non-payment of their salaries, grounding the airline’s operations and leaving hundreds of passengers stranded nationwide.

“The strike started this morning and passengers that were supposed to travel this morning are stranded,” a source at the airport said.

According to the source, the airline had continued to sell tickets to passengers earlier today in the hope that the dispute would be resolved.

It was gathered that the airline has, however, started making refunds with some passengers booking flights with other airlines.

Credit: Punch

Over 3000 IDPs Stranded In Recaptured Borno Communities

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More than 3000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are said to be stranded without food, water and shelter after the Nigerian Army recaptured Rann and other surrounding communities of Borno state from Boko Haram terrorists recently.

Troops of newly-inducted 3 Battalion, 22 Brigade, in conjunction with Army Headquarters Strike Group (AHQ SG) and the Armed Forces Special Forces (AFSF), carried out a clearance operation of Rann, the headquarters of Kala Balge, a border community with Cameroun Republic and about 200 km drive from Maiduguri, the state capital.

The gallant troops cleared the remnants of the Boko Haram terrorists hibernating in Kala Balge general area. The triumphant troops apart from killing 22 terrorists cleared pockets of the terrorists in Wumbi, Tunish, Tilem and Malawaji. Others are Makaudari, Daima, Buduli, Sadigumo, Jiwe, Sidigeri and Kala villages.

But sources said Correspondent that after the clearance operations that over 3000 people mostly women and children, who survived the onslaught were now taking refuge at Kala Balge without means of having food or water, as there were no presence of officials from National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) or Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to render humanitarian services following inaccessibility.

Confirming the development, Commissioner for Local Government and Emirate Affairs, Hon. Usman Zannah in an interview expressed concern on the plights of the stranded victims and promised that Government is taking immediate measures to address the myriads of problems being faced by the trapped innocent civilians in Kala Balge.

“We just received a message that more than 3000 people mostly women and children are stranded after the liberation of Kala Balge and other surrounding villages, we have started mobilizing security operatives, SEMA officials and members of the civilian JTF to deliver relief materials to them as soon as possible.”

Credit: vanguardngr

Stranded Nigerian Students Abroad Write Minister, Demand Payment Of Allowances

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Over 300 Nigerians on Federal Government Bilateral Agreement Education Scholarship Scheme abroad have petitioned the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, demanding the full payment of their 2015 stipends, including their allowances and return tickets for graduating students.

The students, under the aegis of “Ph.D and Senior Postgraduate Students on BEA Scholarship,” said they did not receive their entitlements between January and December 2015 thereby causing them hardship.

The scheme is a bilateral agreement between the Nigerian government, through the ministry of education and the federal scholarship board, and other countries to train students in various fields while the home government takes care of their upkeep during their stay in the host countries.

It is the largest federal government scholarship scheme with students in Russia, China, Ukraine, Cuba, Hungary, Egypt, Morocco and Algeria.

In the letter dated January 3, 2016 and signed by their president, O.G Ezinkwo, the students, numbering 375, told the minister that they and 600 other beneficiaries around the world had been abandoned for 11 months with no source of livelihood due to the inability of the government to promptly release their stipends.

They said the development had exposing them to very dangerous and pernicious situation in foreign lands.

They claimed that every year Nigerian scholarship students always had to be evicted from their accommodation due to inability to pay, visas and passports get expired with no funds to renew them.

They also stated that in the process some of the students became sick and could not be treated due to the lack of the mandatory health insurance and were always being threatened with expulsion on an annual basis.

Credit: PremiumTimes