Nigerian airlines airlifted about 1,514,616 passengers in the first quarter of 2017, reports from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) revealed. Industry experts have urged the airlines to ensure effective maintenance of their aircraft to sustain current good safety record in the country. According to the NCAA, domestic airlines operated 10,366 flights during the period under review, with Air Peace operating the highest number of 3,262 flights. The airline airlifted 289,613 inbound passengers and 233,517 outbound passengers, totaling 523, 130, which is about 40 percent of the total passenger movement during the period.
The NCAA also noted that there were a lot of flight delays by both domestic and international airlines in addition to cancelling of high number of flights in the first quarter. Leading the pack in flight cancellation in the regional and international routes was Arik Air, which recorded 37 out of the total 54 cancelled flights and delayed 244 of the 295 flights it operated on the regional and international routes in the period under review. The report also showed that international airlines operated a total of 3,033 flights into Nigeria, out of which a total of 1,220 of the 3,033 (40.2 percent) flights were delayed. Also, a total number of 54 flights, representing 1.7 percent, were cancelled by the 30 airlines on the regional and international routes in the quarter. Out of the 54 cancelled flights, Arik Air had 37, which represented 68.5 percent of cancelled flights within the period.
Asky Airlines had two cancelled flights; British Airways, one; Cronos Air, one; Delta Air Lines, three; Ethiopian Airline, one; Kenya Airways, one; Lufthansa, one; Med-View Airways, three; South African Airways, two and Virgin Atlantic Airways, two. Air Peace, Aero Contractors, African World, Air Cote DIvoire, Air France, Camair-Co, Dana Air, Egypt Air, Emirates, Etihad, KLM, Meridiana, Middle East, Qatar, Royal Air Marco, Rwandair, Saudi Air, Sudan Airlines and Turkish Airlines, which operate on the regional route, had no cancelled flights within the period. The former Commandant of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos and the Secretary of Aviation Round Table (ART), Group Captain John Ojikutu, said that cutting corners in terms of maintenance is a major challenge for Nigerian airlines because of the present cash crunch in the country, noting that the talk about old or new aircraft does not matter; that what matters is maintenance.
ThisDay (Online)
No comments:
Post a Comment