Travel

Almost all flights by British Airways, totalling hundreds of departures, were cancelled on Monday as pilots launched a 48-hour strike in a dispute over pay. British Airways The airline estimated that the two-day strike will affect 195,000 customers. Most of British Airway’s 850 scheduled flights per day would be cancelled, with passengers being offered a refund or a later flight. …

A two day strike by British Airways pilots looks set to go ahead next week, with airline and union positions as far apart as ever. The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) said it could call off the strike planned for September 9 and 10 if the airline agrees to restart negotiations. BALPA said it has put a new proposal to …

After being grounded for 18 years, Uganda Airlines has taken to the skies again, restoring its status as the country’s national carrier Uganda Airlines launched its maiden flight on Tuesday (27 August) after eighteen years in the doldrums. The airline thus becomes the fifth national carrier in the region. Uganda Airlines will initially fly to seven destinations in Kenya, Tanzania, …

A stowaway fell from the undercarriage of a Kenya Airways plane as it approached Heathrow Airport and landed in a London garden on Sunday, police and airline officials have confirmed. A stowaway is a person who secretly boards a vehicle, such as a ship or an aircraft, in order to travel without paying and without being detected. The flight in …

Nigeria’s foreign ministry has warned the country’s citizens that if they’re travelling through Ethiopia with undeclared cash in excess of 3,000 US dollars, they could have the cash seized. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to inform all Nigerian travellers that the Ethiopian Customs and Revenue Authority (ECRA) has recently stepped up seizure of foreign currencies and valuables in excess …

TAP Air Portugal will begin offering flights to Banjul through its hub in Lisbon on 26 October. According to a press statement released on Wednesday, the Gambian capital city is one of the new routes to be introduced by the Portuguese airline. TAP Air Portugal will leave Lisbon on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 20.55 hrs and land at …

A 50-year-old German, Robert Mionskowski, has done what many would hold for a crazy adventure. He rode his BMW motorbike from the German city of Hannover to Accra – a daredevil mission that took him three weeks. Mionskowski undertook the unusual trip to visit his son who is volunteering in Volta Region’s Vakpo. “Riding a motorbike gives me a sense …

The newly inaugurated international terminal at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, has officially been opened for operations as Asky Airlines began operations at the terminal on Sunday (6 January). Asky Airlines’ B737-700 aircraft with flight number ET-AVP, which landed at the airport at 3:30 pm from Lomé in Togo, had 91 persons on board comprising 85 passengers and six …

Lufthansa Group has appointed Adenike Macaulay as the General Manager, Sales for Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea. In a statement by the airline, Macaulay would oversee all the commercial and sales activities of Lufthansa Group Airlines in Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea from 1 January 2019. It noted that she was the first female and Nigerian to take the position. Macaulay started …

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has commissioned the newly-built international terminal at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. The terminal is said to be the biggest in West Africa and it has the capacity to process at least 15 million passengers annually. While commissioning the facility on Thursday, the President said the federal government was committed to making Nigeria an aviation …

Ethiopian Airlines will be Ghana’s strategic partner as the West African country looks to set up a new national airline. Ghana’s aviation minister Joseph Adda and Ethiopian’s chief executive Tewolde Gebremariam have signed a memorandum of understanding establishing the partnership, with a final agreement to be signed before year’s end. Ghana is not expected to retain more than 10 percent …

Royal Air Maroc will join oneworld (marketed simply as ‘oneworld’), becoming the 14th member of the airline alliance and the first in Africa. Royal Air Maroc (RAM) is set to become part of oneworld alliance in mid-2020, it has been announced by the alliance’s governing board. Oneworld, headquartered in Ney York, is an airline alliance founded on 1 February 1999. …

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has opened Istanbul’s new airport, expected to become the world’s busiest. Erdogan named the new facility Istanbul Airport, ending months of speculation over its name, on Monday. “Istanbul is not only our largest city,” he said before a massive crowd of dignitaries, officials, and journalists, gathered beneath the vaulted ceiling of the airport terminal, “It …

Ethiopian president Mulatu Teshome has announced that the country will soon roll out a visa-on-arrival regime for all Africans entering the country. In other words, there would be no need for Africans to necessarily apply for visas before flying into the country. All African passport holders need to do is fly in and have their visas stamped on arrival. The …

Those expecting Nigeria to float a national carrier before the end of this year have to wait a little longer. The project – Nigeria Air – has been suspended indefinitely. Minister of State for Aviation Hadi Sirika said the decision to put the project on hold was taken on Wednesday at the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting. Sirika said …

Nigeria’s aviation minister announced at the Farnborough Airshow International, a biennial major trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries with a public airshow in the UK, that the country’s new national airline will be called Nigeria Air and will launch in December. He also explains how the country is planning against the failure of the new carrier. Minister of …

Ethiopia has appointed an ambassador to Eritrea for the first time in 20 years, the latest in a series of peace moves between the neighbours. “Redwan Hussein has been appointed as Ethiopia’s ambassador to Eritrea — the first for 20 years, the foreign ministry said,” according to Ethiopia’s state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporation. The announcement on Thursday follows a flurry of …

Nigeria has commenced negotiation with aircraft manufacturers preparatory to the unveiling of a new national carrier, many years after Nigerian Airways was liquidated. The Minister of State for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, said that the Federal Government was also negotiating with investors at the ongoing Farnborough International Air Show in the United Kingdom. Mr James Odaudu, Deputy Director, Media and …

Ethiopia has started issuing visa online for tourists and other visitors across the world effective today (1 June 2018). The news was released by Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister, Fitsum Arega. According to him, the move coupled with a relaxed visa regime will enhance the country’s openness and also entrench the leading reputation of its national carrier, Ethiopian …

The three-year deal will also see ‘Visit Rwanda’ become Arsenal’s official Tourism Partner. The Rwanda Development Board, through its subsidiary, the Rwandan Convention Bureau, has become Arsenal’s first official sleeve partner as part of the country’s drive to become a leading global tourist destination. The three-year deal will also see ‘Visit Rwanda’ become Arsenal’s official Tourism Partner. The ‘Visit Rwanda’ …