Aero Contractors airline keeps passengers stranded all night in Abuja

The airline could not apologise to the passengers.

Dozens of passengers were on Friday night till Saturday morning stranded at the Abuja airport as the airline they paid to transport them failed to do so.
The passengers had each paid several thousands of naira to be flown by Aero Contractors to Lagos from the Nigerian capital.
The flight, AJ132, was scheduled to leave Abuja at 6:30p.m. on Friday
In what has become a norm among domestic airlines operating in Nigeria, the flight was announced to have been delayed. Early on Friday, the passengers got a message from the airline announcing a delay in the flight by about 3 hours.
“This is to inform you that our flight AJ132 from Abuja to Lagos Today the 8th of November 2013, has been rescheduled to 21:40hrs due to operational reasons. Check in starts two (2) hours before and ends forty(40) minutes before departure. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you. For rescheduling, please call: 01-6284140 or mail tickethelpdesk@acn.aero,” the airline said in the message sent to the passengers.
Many of the passengers arrived earlier than two hours before 9:40 p.m. for the trip.
“Based on their message, I got to the airport around 7:30 p.m.,” one of the affected passengers, Charles Musa, said.
Before 9:30 p.m., the airport announcer announced that the flight had been further delayed with many of the passengers lamenting the situation.
“They still announced and assured us that we were going to fly to Lagos. And so when they announced that a plane had landed from Lagos, we were asked to queue up for boarding,” Mr. Musa, a Lagos-based lawyer said.
PREMIUM TIMES learnt that the plane from Lagos, which was also a delayed flight, arrived Abuja some minutes before 12 midnight.
After the passengers in the plane disembarked, the Lagos-bound passengers queued and were ready to board.
“Surprisingly, the pilot just came out with his crew and said he was not told to fly back to Lagos. He said he would not fly,” Mr. Musa said.
The passengers were thus left stranded at the tarmac around midnight with no official announcement about their flight from Aero. Some junior staff of the airline, however, told them they would be flown to Lagos at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday but kept mum on where the passengers would stay for the next seven hours before the flight.
The Abuja airport is one of many being remodelled by the aviation ministry, with only makeshift facilities available for both arriving and departing passengers. The airport currently has no facility for a resting area or a hotel.
“Some of us decided to go sleep inside the plane as no other provision was made for us by Aero.
“The plane was locked, but there was another Aero plane nearby. About 30 passengers including foreigners therefore went to sleep inside the other plane,” Mr. Musa said.
The passengers were, however, asked to leave the plane by soldiers at about 3:00 a.m. on Saturday with many of them sleeping on the floor at arrival lounge of the airport.
Aero, which says its mission is to “provide a safe, reliable, efficient and competitive service to our customers”. again delayed its flight on Saturday morning, with the almost 60 passengers finally travelling to Lagos at about 8:00 a.m.
“ We left Abuja at 8:00 a.m. No apologies, no compensation from Aero. It was sad, one of the passengers was at the airport since 1:00 p.m. on Friday,” Mr. Musa said.
Aero Contractors, which won the ‘Best West African Airline of the Year 2012 Award’ at the West African Tourism and Hospitality Awards, refused to respond to PREMIUM TIMES’ enquiry on the treatment of the passengers, and any possible compensation.
Its spokesperson, Simon Tumba, did not pick his calls, return calls or reply to a text message sent to his phone.
Culled

Arik Air to fly Golden Eaglets to Abuja

 Nigeria’s largest airline, Arik Air, said on Friday it 

will fly victorious Golden Eaglets, to Abuja, as soon 

as the FIFA under-17 junior champions arrive 

Murtala Muhammed International Airport from 

Dubai on Saturday.

The Eaglets will arrive Lagos by 8pm and 

immediately depart for Abuja onboard one of Arik Air’s state-of-the-art aircraft.

“This gesture further demonstrates Arik Air’s commitment to giving back to society as a responsible 

corporate citizen of Nigeria,” said Arik Air.

Arik Air in February 2013 flew victorious Super Eagles from South Africa to Abuja.

The airline was also the lead sponsor at the recently concluded IBB Golf Club 2013 Independent Cup.

“Arik Air understands that Nigerians not only love sports but are always united in the game of soccer and 

would therefore support any Endeavour that promotes the unity of Nigeria and Nigerians,” the airline said.

Culled from PM News

Nigeria, Singapore Seal Talks On Direct Air Links, Medical Tourism

Nigeria and Singapore have sealed talks on opening up direct air links between both countries and leveraging on each other’s competitive and comparative advantage for a mutually beneficial trade and investment relationship.
The two countries, according to a statement made available to LEADERSHIP yesterday have agreed to collaborate in the areas of medical tourism, capacity development, skills acquisition and enterprise development, among others, while putting machineries in motion for investment guarantee and a fair taxation regime.
“The agreements were reached at a meeting between the Nigerian Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, and the Singaporean Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr S. Iswaran, on the sidelines of the Nigeria-Singapore Business and Investment Forum in Singapore,” the statement said, adding, “Aganga said direct air services (links) between Nigeria and Singapore would provide a good foundation for unrestricted business movement and growth, in addition to a mutually favourable trade and investment relationship between both countries.”
On his part, the Singaporean minister said, “Once we open up the links, the people will follow and businesses too. Nigeria is a large country in its region and there are a lot of opportunities. Singapore is also an important gateway in this region. If we explore these advantages, the two countries will be better for it.” 
The Singaporean government, however, revealed that already, arrangements had been concluded to have direct flights to Singapore from Nigeria, noting that the Ethiopian Airlines would commence direct flights from Nigeria to Singapore in December, this year.
The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Enterprise International Singapore Board in five key areas - collaboration in the growth sectors of the economy, sharing information and best practice, mutual support in business missions and capacity development facilitation.
The Singaporean trade minister, however, noted that the Double Taxation Agreement talks between both countries had reached an advanced stage, adding that further improving the business climate and providing investment guarantee would create a good level of comfort for businesses on both sides.
Aganga, who noted that an agreement had been reached to develop a smart city in Abuja (a mini-Singapore), also urged Singapore to take advantage of opportunities in Nigeria’s Free Trade Zones, to create good avenues for investment while also creating jobs and generating wealth for Nigerians.
Earlier during his presentation, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority, Mr. Gbenga Kuye, had pointed out that the Free Zone Scheme was presently undergoing strategic reforms to adequately reposition it to meet the nation’s quest for industrialisation.
Nigeria and Singapore have, however, agreed to start off the process of establishing the Nigeria-Singapore Trade and Investment Council, starting first with the setting up of the chamber of commerce (private sector-to-private sector) in both countries this year.
According to Iswaran, the Singapore Business Federation, which works with all the businesses in Singapore, will facilitate the Council on the side of Singapore. The Council is an institutional framework for working on increasing the level of trade and investment between both countries under a win-win situation.
“The business environment in Nigeria is getting better and better, in line with the Transformation Agenda of Mr. President. And the story of Nigeria is being told the right way in major countries of the world. The result is that Nigeria is better viewed and investments are coming. This is the reason, for the second year running, Nigeria is the preferred destination for investment in Africa, according to UNCTAD’s figures,” Aganga noted.
Culled from Leadership

NDLEA links MMIA with 10 international airports

The Murtala Muhammed International Airport was on Monday linked with 10 international airports around the world, through the inauguration  of an intelligence project by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.

The project, dubbed Airport Communication, is said to be supported by the Nigerian Government, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Canadian Government, European Union, United States, INTERPOL and the World Customs Organisation.

A statement by the NDLEA spokesman, Michelle Ofoyeju, said the project was aimed at real time transmission and exchange of intelligence concerning drug trafficking among members, thereby facilitating the interception of illicit shipment of drugs.

The Joint Airport Interdiction Task Force, a 36 member group, headed by NDLEA Commander at the Lagos Airport, Mr. Hamza Umar, is expected to be involved in the project.

Ofoyeju said the JAITF, inaugurated by the Chairman of the NDLEA, Mr. Ahmadu Giade, would have its membership drawn from NDLEA, Nigerian Customs Service, Police, Nigerian Immigration Service and State Security Service.

Giade said, “The Federal Government entered into an agreement with the UNODC Regional Office for West and Central Africa on 13th October 2010.

“This was done to secure our airports against drug traffickers. Direct connections with vetted units in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe and Latin America from the MMIA, would be available as a result of this project.”

Giade, who was represented by his Special Assistant, Mr. Suleiman Ningi, said that the project would increase drug interdiction capacity at the airport.

UNODC representative, Mr. Marc Vanhulle, also the JAITF Project coordinator, said AIRCOP was targeted at covering the entire trans-Atlantic route for trafficking drugs from Latin America to Europe through Africa.

He said, “West Africa is recognised as a transit area for cocaine trafficking between Latin America and Europe. More recently, the area has also become a centre for methamphetamine production and has been increasing drug use locally.

“An integrated regional approach like project AIRCOP is critical in addressing the borderless threats of drugs and crime.”

Culled from Punch

National Carrier: FG Has Not Approached Us — Arik Air

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As industry stakeholders continue to speculate on the choice of an indigenous airline to be designated as national carrier by the government, Arik Air said it has not been approached in that capacity by the federal government.
Arik Air managing director, Chris Ndulue, who spoke to journalists in Lagos during the seventh anniversary of the airline also said governments no longer run airlines in the 21st century. Answering reporters’ question at the airline’s corporate head office in Lagos, he said: “I don’t think government runs airlines in the 21 century. We at Arik Air have shareholders and the federal government has not approached us.
“We should deal with realities on ground.  It is left to the federal government whether they want to go into the airline business.”
He however described Arik Air as a success story following its landmark achievements in the industry within its short period of operation. He also disclosed plan by the airline to establish a Maintenance Repair Overhaul (MRO) facility in Nigeria in partnership with Lufthansa Technik and Bombardier Aircraft Manufacturer.
He also disclosed that Arik Air would  launch its Bombadier’s CRJ1000NG aircraft  in December this year. He also said Arik Air has invested about $2 million in the training of 16 cadet pilots, while 1.5 million pounds was spent in the training of 60 ab-initio pilots. He also said the airline has trained 18 female pilots “the highest by any Nigerian airline.”
Culled from Leadership

Arik urges FG to overhaul aviation industry

Mr Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide, Chairman of Arik Airlines, on Wednesday called on the Federal Government to overhaul the nation’s aviation sector.

Arumemi-Ikhide made the call at the 7th anniversary and unveiling of the firm’s new aircraft, an A330-200 Airbus, at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos.

He commended the remodelling of some airports in the country, but urged the government to expand more of the terminals.

“Talking about infrastructure in the industry, some airports have changed. We have seen improvement in some areas.

“We expect the airports will be fenced to stem cases of stowaways.

“We hope more infrastructure will be put into the terminals, particularly the conveyor belt at the international wing,” he said.

He said that the Federal Government had not approached the airline for the purpose of setting up a national carrier.

“I do not think that any government runs an airline in this 21st century.

“We have not been told that government wants to take over Arik.

“If government wants to take over our airline, they (government) should talk to our shareholders and it is left to the government whether they want a national carrier or not.

“We expect competition will better the business. We expect some stronger airlines to come up and strengthen the sector,” he said.

Arumemi-Ikhide urged Nigerians to invest in the aviation business, adding that Arik should be seen as a role model in the industry.

He denied the allegation that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) had carried out an audit exercise of the airline.

According to him, Arik has trained 16 cadet pilots at the cost of 2 million U.S. dollars (more than N310 million) within its seven years of existence.

“We have also trained over 18 female pilots and 60 ab-initio pilots at a cost of 1.5 million pounds (about N330 million).

“We have created over 2,500 direct jobs for Nigerians and carried 13 million passengers in seven years,” he added.(NAN)

Culled from Daily Post

Arik Air Unveils New Airbus A330-200, Starts New Routes

Arik Air yesterday marked its 7th year in service even as it unveiled its second Airbus A330-200 which will be used to boost international operations.
Arik Air managing director, Mr Chris Ndulue, said the airline plans to start services to Jeddeh, Saudi Arabia; Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Sao Poula, Brazil.
He said, “Our motivation for planning to operate these routes is that Nigerians want to go there. There are enough passengers to warrant our operations to these cities. We need to tap into opportunities flying into these cities will bring. We have added two wide bodied aircraft to make the operations viable.”
He said the airline has come a long way during its seven years of service including the creation of more than 2500 jobs, connecting several cities in Nigeria and the training of pilots on wide body aircraft among others.
Ndulue said “The airline has an extremely strong market position in terms of the scale of operations, number of destinations served, fleet age size and choice of schedules and frequencies and has earned its position of a true Nigerian carrier”.
He listed some of the airline’s many achievements within the last one year to also include inauguration of service to Kinshasha, winning the Leadership Newspapers’ Award, taking delivery of two Airbus A330-200 aircraft and launch of user friendly website among others.
He also said Arik Air has carried about 13 million passengers in seven years. He lamented the state of infrastructure in the industry and urged government to invest in airport perimeter fencing even as he asked aviation authorities to accord Arik Air some respect especially in the area of giving it space to operate.      
Ndulue disclosed that the new aircraft in its fleet is about five years old and was leased to strengthen “our international operations until we begin to take delivery of the aircraft we have placed orders for”.  Sir Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide, chairman of the airline tasked the government over multiple taxation on airlines even as he said Nigerians should learn to patronise indigenous airline because it will enable their growth.

Culled from Leadership