Aviation
FG to enforce law prohibiting aviation workers strikes – Minister
Aviation may have a raw deal with the Federal Government should they decide to embark on strike or protest at nation’s airports as the FG has vowed to enforce the relevant law prohibiting industrial actions in the sector.
Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika said the FG would no longer tolerate strikes and riots in the aviation sector.
He spoke with State House correspondents on Wednesday at the presidential villa, Abuja, in reaction to flight disruption on Monday at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, following a strike by Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (NAHCO) staff members over salary increment.
The strike was later suspended after the management of NAHCO said it had commenced negotiations with its workers.
NAHCO provides ground handling (cargo/ramp), passenger, and other services to several international airlines including Air France/KLM, Qatar, Ethiopian Airlines, Delta Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, and Turkish Air.
Sirika said the FAAN Act prohibited strikes and riots in the aviation sector.
He apologised to the public and said the government would ensure that the law was henceforth enforced to prevent future occurrences.
“This is very important to the travelling public. First, we apologise to them, our teeming passengers in this difficult moment,” Sirika said.
He also said, “This will not happen in the future by the grace of God. And the reason is simple; aviation is an essential service, the act has been assented to by Mr. President, so strikes and riots around our airports are prohibited by the laws of the land.
“Now that we have the act in place and assented to by Mr President and passed by the National Assembly, we will deal with it according to the law.
“We will ensure no essential service is being disrupted by anybody no matter how aggrieved. There are other channels of channeling issues when they arise but they are not permitted to go on strike because aviation is an essential service and is the law of the land now.
“I will give you an example, there was an airline that had to return to base because it couldn’t land. Imagine if there was a patient on that aircraft. Imagine somebody attending to a very serious issue or matter at hand or business or a student trying to catch up with an exam and then because of somebody who is aggrieved some other person will die.
“Government will no longer allow that. So it’s in the law of the land, check the FAAN act, it’s been assented to and it’s going to take place soon, in fact now, from today we will not allow that.”
He said the government was always willing to listen to any grievances, adding that there are procedures to address such.
“They should please desist from this. It is wrong, inhuman, and not allowed. It is not permitted and we will not be permitting it any longer.”
Aviation
Disaster averted as bird strike hits Abuja-Lagos Air Peace flight
Disaster averted as bird strike hits Abuja-Lagos Air Peace flight
An Abuja-Lagos flight was on Thursday aborted following a bird strike on the airplane belonging to Air Peace, forcing the authorities to ground the aircraft.
The bird strike experienced in the early hours reportedly prompted a ramp return to ensure the safety of passengers onboard.
All the passengers quickly disembarked and were calmed down before they were moved into another plane for the one-hour journey.
A bird strike is a collision between a bird and an aircraft, or other airborne animal, while the aircraft is in flight, taking off, or landing. And it can be a significant threat to aircraft safety.
Air Peace in a statement by its Head of Corporate Communications, Ejike Ndiulo, said the bird strike occurred at 6:30am, and all passengers disembarked normally.
The statement read, “We wish to inform our esteemed passengers that our Abuja- Lagos 06:30 flight experienced a bird strike before take-off, prompting a ramp return as a safety measure. All passengers disembarked normally.
“We have deployed a replacement aircraft for the affected flight in order to minimize disruptions, thus ensuring that passengers continue their journeys promptly.
“We appeal for the understanding of our valued passengers impacted by this development, as well as those on other flights that may experience delays.
“At Air Peace, we are committed to providing safe, comfortable, and reliable air travel for all our passengers.”
Aviation
Black box of crashed helicopter in P’Harcourt found, two passengers still missing
Black box of crashed helicopter in P’Harcourt found, two passengers still missing
A flight data recorder otherwise called back box of the helicopter that crashed in Rivers State two weeks ago has been recovered.
The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) confirmed this in a statement.
The helicopter operated by East Wind Aviation and hired by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited crashed on October 24 while travelling from the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) base in Port Harcourt.
The aircraft, carrying six passengers and two crew members, went down in the Atlantic Ocean near Bonny Finima, off the coast of Calabar, around 11:22am.
A week later, the NSIB reported that a fifth body was recovered from the site of the crash.
In a statement on Friday, Bimbo Oladeji, NSIB director, public affairs and consumer protection, confirmed that the flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR), the black box, were retrieved from the site.
Oladeji said the bureau, in collaboration with Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), and other search and recovery partners, coordinated efforts with both local and international teams to locate and retrieve the bodies of the deceased and essential components necessary for a full investigation.
“The FDR and CVR, commonly referred to as the aircraft’s ‘black box,’ was retrieved early this morning,” Oladeji said.
Aviation
Air crash averted as Australian plane suffers engine failure
Air crash averted as Australian plane suffers engine failure
A major air crash was averted on Friday after an Australian passenger plane suffered an engine failure.
The plane departing from Sydney, Australia, had experienced engine failure, causing the aircraft to circle before making a safe emergency landing, according to a post by Qantas on X.
Another report from Sydney Airport said a grass fire also ignited along one side of the runway but it was unclear whether the two incidents were related.
The fire had since reportedly been contained, though some flight delays were experienced.
Qantas did not disclose the number of passengers on board the twin-engine Boeing 737-800, which was bound for Brisbane, when the engine failed with a loud bang.
It also said there were no injuries from the incident.
“We understand this would have been a distressing experience for customers, and we will be contacting all customers this afternoon to provide support,” stated Qantas Chief Pilot, Captain Richard Tobiano.
“We will also be conducting an investigation into the cause of the engine issue.”
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