United Nigeria Airlines finally apologises to passengers after NCAA lifts suspension

United Nigeria Airlines has apologised to its passengers taken to Asaba instead of Abuja lady week due to miscommunication between the crew and control tower.

The apology came after the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) announced the lifting of suspension it imposed on operations of the airlines’ wet lease aircraft.

The NCAA made the announcement in a letter signed by Ibrahim Dambazau, its director of operations, licensing and training on Friday.

On Sunday, a United Nigeria Airlines aircraft which departed Muritala Muhammad International Airport, Lagos, en route to Abuja, diverted to Asaba, Delta State.

In its defence a few hours after the incident, United Nigeria said the flight was diverted to Asaba as a result of bad destination weather.

On Tuesday the NCAA began an investigation into the airline’s two wet lease aircraft resulting in a suspension of operations.

In its latest response in a statement, the airline apologised to the passengers for the experience and expressed their gratitude for their understanding during the period.

“We are pleased to announce the lifting of the suspension placed on our ‘Part G’ operations specifications which affected one of our aircraft,” the airline said.

“We want to express our deepest gratitude to you for keeping faith with us and for your understanding during this period.”

Providing the result of the investigation in the letter referenced NCAA/DOLT/UNA/Vol.02523, NCAA cited that the incident was due to a lack of “adequate liaison” between the lessor’s OCC (operation control centre) and lessee’s OCC which has also omitted appropriate flight briefing from the point of departure.

The authority also said there was non-adherence to the approved filed air traffic control (ATC) flight plan.

The authority also gave recommendations to the airline, adding that both cockpit and cabin crew should hold appropriate briefings before flight and procedures should be strictly adhered to by both the lessor and the lessee’s OCC.

Saudi forces Air Peace plane return to Nigeria with all passengers 

Saudi Arabia authorities on Monday cancelled visas of 264 passengers airlifted by Air Peace after their arrival in Jeddah.

The Saudi asked the airline to return all 264 passengers to Nigeria.

It was learnt that the Nigerian embassy waded in, forcing the Saudi authorities to reduce the number of passengers that would be returned from 264 to 177.

The flight took off from the Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano on Sunday night and arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Monday.

The visa cancellation was said to have shocked the first passengers and airline personnel because they went through the advanced passengers pre-screening system (APPS) — which was also monitored by the Saudi Arabia authorities before the flight left Nigeria.

Some aviation experts in Nigeria suspected the development could be a plot to dissuade Air Peace from continuing its operations on the route given that the carrier had been recording a high load factor.

It was learnt that the Air Peace flight for Tuesday to Jeddah was already fully booked.

Saudi Air has been operating direct flights from Nigeria to Saudi Arabia.

But since Air Peace started its flight service to the Middle East nation at relatively lower fares, it has been receiving high patronage and this helps to save foreign exchange for the country.

Airlines consider palm oil jet fuel after first commercial flight

Airlines globally are considering oil-blended fuel as an alternative to Jet A1, whose cost has risen astronomically .
This is coming after Indonesia on Friday flew its first commercial flight using palm oil-blended jet fuel.
Indonesia is the world’s biggest producer of the commodity.

The country is pushing for wider use of biofuels to cut fuel imports.
Operated by flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, the Boeing 737-800NG aircraft carried more than 100 passengers from the capital Jakarta to Surakarta city about 550 kilometres (342 miles) away, Garuda Indonesia CEO Irfan Setiaputra said.
“We will discuss further with Pertamina, Energy Ministry and other parties to ensure this fuel is commercially reasonable,” Irfan said during a ceremony.

He added the plane was set to return to Jakarta later on Friday.
Garuda conducted several tests including a flight test on the new fuel earlier this month and an engine ground test in August.

According to Reuters, the palm-oil blended jet fuel is produced by Indonesian state energy firm PT Pertamina at its Cilacap refinery.

It uses hydro-processed esters and fatty acid (HEFA) technology and is made of refined bleached deodorized palm kernel oil.

Benefits of palm-oil jet fuel

Pertamina has said the palm-based fuel emits less atmosphere warming greenhouse gases compared with fossil fuels.

Palm oil producing countries have called for the edible oil to be included in feedstock for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), Reuters reports.

“In 2021, Pertamina successfully produced 2.0 SAF in its Cilacap unit using co-processing technology and was made of refined bleached deodorized palm kernel oil with production capacity 1,350 kilolitres per day,” said Alfian Nasution, a director at Pertamina.

A director at the Energy Ministry, Harris Yahya,s aid the use of biofuel would lower the greenhouse effect.

The aviation industry, a major emitter of greenhouse gases, is looking for ways to cut its carbon footprint by using alternative fuels.

Experts say the industry will need 450 billion litres of SAF a year by 2050, if the fuel is to account for around 65 per cent of the mitigation needed to achieve net-zero targets.