AVIATION MEGAFORCE

Arik Air, West and Central Africa’s largest carrier has again scored another first by receiving the European Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) Third Country Operators (TCO) Authorisation to fly into any European Union (EU) country. Arik Air is among the 590 global airline operators that successfully completed the stringent certification process before the deadline of 26 th  of November, 2016 given by EASA. Arik Air is also the only operator in Nigeria to get this Authorisation which is a requirement for all non-European airline operators to fly into European Union (EU) countries. In the past, airline operators were required to apply for operating permits from each European country. EASA came up with new requirements in 2014 which stipulated that any airline operator from outside the EU flying into the EU must fulfil stringent safety, security, quality and operational requirements and comply with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) safety standards by th...

Arik Air, West and Central Africa’s largest airline has alerted passengers of worsening aviation fuel supply leading to flights delays and some cancellations at airports across the country. The fuel scarcity which has been on for several days is becoming more intense with the inability of approved major fuel marketers to meet the demands of airline especially at this time when maximum number of passengers are traveling for the yuletide. Arik Air, the largest airline operator has been operating over 100 daily flights and therefore experiences a larger impact of this scarcity compared to other airlines. The airline requires a daily supply of approximately 500,000 liters for its operations but it has been getting between 180,000 and 200,000 over the past 10 days which has severely impacted the scheduled flight operations. Despite the abrupt and random fuel price increase by some marketers, which the airline may be forced to pass on to its customers, the product supply still re...

  ARIK AIR ADHERES TO HIGH SAFETY STANDARDS Arik Air, West and Central Africa’s largest carrier has been leading the resurgence of Nigerian civil aviation by committing to being a quality airline adhering and operating to international safety and operational standards using modern aircraft and having high maintenance and safety standards. This is evident in the airline achieving the stringent IOSA (IATA Operational Safety Audit) four consecutive times with the last two audits cleared successfully without any findings. This achievement has also earned Arik Air, EIOSA (Enhanced IATA Operational Safety Audit) making it the only airline in West and Central Africa region to have such certification. The airline operates the youngest fleet in West Africa with an average hull age of 7.8 years and has an existing contract with world renowned maintenance providers such as Lufthansa Technik and Lufthansa Cityline under full “turnkey” maintenance service contracts and other leading ...

Arik Air, West and Central Africa’s largest carrier is increasing its flight frequencies to key domestic destinations ahead of the Christmas and New Year festivities to cope with passenger demands. The airline’s decision to increase flight frequencies on the domestic routes is predicated on the need to ensure that many Nigerians are able to travel home to share the joy of the season with family and friends. To also cope with the demands of its international passengers on the London Heathrow and New York JFK routes, the airline has leased a wide-body A340-300 from Portugal to supplement its wide-body fleet of two A330-200 aircraft. Arik Air connects 18 destinations within Nigeria, 10 in West/Central Africa and three international destinations enabling the airline to bring more Nigerian families together this festive season than any other carrier. Instead of the average 100 daily flights normally operated, Arik Air will during the festive period increase its daily flights to a...

Runway 022, Abuja remains a night mare for the foreign airlines that frequently complaints about the rutted runway surface which has caused structural damage to under carriage of most aircraft on landing. The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) of recent, has been inundated with series of report from airlines like KLM, Emirates, British Airways and Ethiopian Airlines as well as some domestic carriers on the terrible nature of the runway. The poor state of the runway, if not rectified, an industry expert says may result in dangerous landing, excessive vibration, loss of control of aircraft and runway incursion on the useable portion. A committee with membership drawn from NAMA, FAAN and NCAA had come out with a suggestion of phasing the maintenance of the runway as total closure will not be possible because of political consideration. For total closure, Minna and Kaduna airports are   being considered as alternate airports. Both airports however, have ...

New Era in Safety Calls for Constant Information-Sharing to Handle Unprecedented Growth in Aviation Globally  Aviation safety today is undergoing a worldwide revolution in thinking and practice. With 90,000 commercial flights every day plus thousands of business aviation trips, officials are expanding beyond reactive efforts to predictive processes that can minimize future incidents. That's why  Flight Safety Foundation has launched a new, improved website  that provides an unequalled repository of trustworthy information and other resources. This state-of-the-art, mobile-responsive website lets aviation industry members access and apply the world's most comprehensive, up-to-date safety data and analysis from any device, anywhere. "All aviation stakeholders today need to be on constant guard against complacency by identifying and correlating small anomalies that can ultimately cause problems. Flight Safety Foundation is proud to be the industry's source for u...

      Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL) announced on Monday in Lagos that  Ethiopian Airlines has moved its Cargo Operations to SAHCOL. The relocation will see that all import shipments on Ethiopian Airline flights to and from Lagos, Abuja and Kano are to be warehoused in the SAHCOL warehouses before clearance, while all export cargo on the Ethiopian Airline flights from all its destinations in Nigeria, are now to originate from the SAHCOL warehouses in the various locations. SAHCOL, which is an ISAGO (IATA) and RA3 (European Union) certified Ground Handling Company has recently made massive investments in state-of-the-art aviation ground handling equipment, construction of an ultra-modern cargo import and export warehouses, manpower trainings and excellent customer services. Hence, SAHCOL continue on the part of growth in confidence with existing and prospective clients Therefore, with this new endorsement of the SAHCOL brand again, ...

EgyptAir flight MS804 Passengers' nationalities 66 people on board - 56 passengers, seven crew members and three security personnel 30  Egyptians 15  French citizens 2  Iraqis 1  from Britain, Canada, Belgium, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Sudan, Chad and Portugal Source: EgyptAir PA

Egypt Air Flight 804 Disappears Over Mediterranean ---with 66 souls onboard  E gypt Air flight that went missing on Thursday said they had received little information about what might have happened to the plane.   By REUTERS AND THE ASSOCIATED PRESS on  Publish Date   Share Tweet CAIRO — An EgyptAir passenger jet that took off from Paris with  66 people on board  suddenly disappeared over the Mediterranean Sea on Thursday morning, shortly before it was due to land in  Cairo . EgyptAir Flight 804 departed Paris at  11:09 p.m.  on Wednesday. At 2:26 a.m., the pilot spoke to Greek air traffic controllers, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, officials said. Three or four minutes later, the plane last made radar contact. At 2:37 a.m., shortly after entering Egyptian air space, the plane made a 90-degree turn to the left and then a full circle to the right, plunging to 9,000 feet from  37,000 feet  and d...

  Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) has announced the continued expansion of its sectors of the BARS Program with the signing on Monday 15 February 2016 of the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) as a new Tier 1 BARS Member Organization. FSF CEO Jon Beatty, BARS Managing Director David Anderson, and FSFL Chairman John Guselli met with DELWP Secretary Adam Fennessy, Emergency Management Victoria Commissioner Craig Lapsley, and DELWPs Chief Fire Officer Alan Goodwin, and Deputy Chief Fire Officer Darren Mackenzie for the signing of the BARS Member Organization (BMO) Agreement. The signing of this Agreement establishes a collaborative working relationship between Victorian Government and the FSF. The Victorian Government sees great value and advantage in using the BARS Program as a key part of its aviation safety oversight and risk management. DELWP Secretary Adam Fennessy said, "This relationship gives us the opportunity to work with experts in this field to ...

 In line with its determination to provide seamless air navigation services and also enhance safety of air travel within the nation’s airspace, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), has facilitated the signing of letters of procedures between Kano Area Control Centre (ACC) and Abuja Approach Control Unit (APC) on the one hand and between Lagos Area Control Centre (ACC) and Port Harcourt Approach Control Unit (APC) on the other. The letters of procedures which spells out the condition under which the responsibility for provision of air traffic services shall be shared between the parent Area Control Centre and the subordinate Approach Control Units also specifies flow control procedures during periods of congestion, just as it specifies procedures to follow in the event of total or partial communication failure between air traffic control services unit and an aircraft among others. Speaking during the signing of the Letters of Procedures by Air Traffic Operations Managers...

  Flight Safety Foundation has announced further expansion of its sectors of the Basic Aviation Risk Standard (BARS) Program with the signing of QBE Australia as a new BARS Member Organization. FSF President and CEO Jon Beatty and BARS Managing Director David Anderson met with QBE Australia National Aviation Manager Julian Fraser in mid-February for the signing of the BARS Member Organization (BMO) agreement. The signing of this agreement signifies the relationship between QBE Australia and Flight Safety Foundation through the BARS Program. QBE has been working closely within the BARS Program from its initial conception. Fraser sees the BARS Program as a key part of QBE’s risk management strategies. “QBE is both delighted and proud to come on board the Foundation’s BARS Program as the first insurer to join as a BARS Member Organization,” said Fraser. “We’ve long recognised the BARS Program as a valuable tool in the effective management of aviation risk in the contracte...

Initiative supports Mexico's aviation sector, environmental and socio-economic goals  Boeing , Aeromexico and Mexico's Airports and Auxiliary Services (ASA) will collaborate with a biojet program supported by Mexico's Sector Fund for Energy Sustainability (SENER-CONACYT) to advance research and development of sustainable aviation biofuel in Mexico. The initiative, announced today and coordinated through the Mexican Bioenergy Innovation Center, will support Mexico's aviation sector as well as its environmental and socio-economic goals. Executives at Boeing, Aeromexico, ASA and the Potosinian Institute of Scientific and Technological Research (IPICYT) formalized the initiative at a ceremony in Mexico City. "To support customers and the aviation industry's long-term growth, Boeing is proud to partner with Aeromexico and many key stakeholders to move Mexico's sustainable aviation biofuel industry forward," said Marc Allen,...

'     The press statement reads as follow: Recent press reports have given the impression that there is an on-going power tussle by some management staff of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency over the position of acting Managing Director / Chief Executive of the Agency.  Such unsubstantiated, deliberately planted reports are a complete figment of the imagination of the authors, who maliciously hope to profit from the confusion the false reports are capable of causing. As soon as the Hon. Minister of Transportation Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi became aware that some top officials of the Agency (including the MD/CE) had been held by the EFCC, he personally visited the Agency on Tuesday 16 th  February, 2016 and gave clear directives to Engr. Emmanuel Anasi (Acting Director of Safety Electronics and Engineering Services) to oversee the affairs of the Agency for the time being. At no time thereafter did any management staff seek to contest ...