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FG refuses Delta Airlines right to fly New York-Lagos route
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Robert Blum (r) president, Cercle Diplomatic and leader of Zurick 14, presenting a sourvenir to President Umaru Yar’Adua (l), during a visit to the State House Abuja, yesterday. With them is Ricardo Goizueta and other members.
United States’ second largest airline, Delta Airlines, has called off its proposed direct flight between New York and Lagos.
Business Day gathered that the decision followed the refusal by the Federal Government to grant the airline the commercial right to fly directly from a second city in the United States to Lagos.
It already operates daily flights between Lagos and Atlanta.
Business Day gathered last night that the ministry of transportation did not give any reasons for the decision which some analysts described as another “shakedown.”
But a source in the ministry told Business Day in Abuja that government’s refusal was as a result of “the domineering attitude of Delta Airlines”.
“You know none of our airlines has started operating into the US, despite being designated by the United States government. The US is even asking our airlines to lease aircraft from their own airlines or other airlines that have met their standard.”
The source who pleaded anonymity informed Business Day that government may be tactically protecting interests of the Nigerian designated carriers to the US.
It would be recalled that Delta Air began direct daily flights from Lagos to Atlanta on December 4, 2007 with a promise to look into operating the New York route from June 2008.
Though Nigeria has an open skies agreement with the United States, any change in the commercial agreement between both countries must be renegotiated and agreed upon by the two countries before any of their airlines can increase frequencies on the agreed routes, an aviation expert said yesterday.
Virgin Nigeria, Arik Air and Bellview were designated by the Federal Government to fly into different states in the US but they have to wait for the conclusion of the technical audit being carried out on the Nigerian airlines and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Though the Department of Transportation of the US has granted the airlines provisional right to fly into American airports, it was with a clause that directed that the airlines make use of aircraft from airlines from a country that has FAA category 1 status.
The local airlines have all attained the category one status except the nation’s regulatory authority, which is still being audited by FAA.
The technical audit would enable the authority to prove that it has the capacity to carry out oversight functions on airlines, airports and aviation personnel in accordance with international standards.
If the NCAA attains the category one status, Nigerian registered airlines and licensed aviation personnel would be accepted as meeting international standards and would be allowed to fly into Europe and the US.
Meanwhile, Emirates Airlines is now the highest selling airline in Nigeria, displacing British Airways that is currently suffering from the mishandling allegations.
From statistics available to Business Day, Emirates which operates a Boeing 777 extended range aircraft with daily frequencies has a load factor of above 90 percent consistently across all cabins.
Its profit has surged by 62 percent, making $1.37 billion for 2007/2008 despite the high cost of fuel.
The airline’s gross revenue increased 32 percent to $10 billion during the period when it carried 21.2 million passengers, an increase of 3.7 million over the previous year.
However, in spite of the bad press elicited by BA’s mishandling of a deportee on a London-Lagos flight, the airline is said to be enjoying very strong loads ex-Lagos. But BA’s Nigerian flights are still landing in terminal four rather than its new and exclusive, a fact that is being criticised as discriminatory.
It already operates daily flights between Lagos and Atlanta.
Business Day gathered last night that the ministry of transportation did not give any reasons for the decision which some analysts described as another “shakedown.”
But a source in the ministry told Business Day in Abuja that government’s refusal was as a result of “the domineering attitude of Delta Airlines”.
“You know none of our airlines has started operating into the US, despite being designated by the United States government. The US is even asking our airlines to lease aircraft from their own airlines or other airlines that have met their standard.”
The source who pleaded anonymity informed Business Day that government may be tactically protecting interests of the Nigerian designated carriers to the US.
It would be recalled that Delta Air began direct daily flights from Lagos to Atlanta on December 4, 2007 with a promise to look into operating the New York route from June 2008.
Though Nigeria has an open skies agreement with the United States, any change in the commercial agreement between both countries must be renegotiated and agreed upon by the two countries before any of their airlines can increase frequencies on the agreed routes, an aviation expert said yesterday.
Virgin Nigeria, Arik Air and Bellview were designated by the Federal Government to fly into different states in the US but they have to wait for the conclusion of the technical audit being carried out on the Nigerian airlines and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Though the Department of Transportation of the US has granted the airlines provisional right to fly into American airports, it was with a clause that directed that the airlines make use of aircraft from airlines from a country that has FAA category 1 status.
The local airlines have all attained the category one status except the nation’s regulatory authority, which is still being audited by FAA.
The technical audit would enable the authority to prove that it has the capacity to carry out oversight functions on airlines, airports and aviation personnel in accordance with international standards.
If the NCAA attains the category one status, Nigerian registered airlines and licensed aviation personnel would be accepted as meeting international standards and would be allowed to fly into Europe and the US.
Meanwhile, Emirates Airlines is now the highest selling airline in Nigeria, displacing British Airways that is currently suffering from the mishandling allegations.
From statistics available to Business Day, Emirates which operates a Boeing 777 extended range aircraft with daily frequencies has a load factor of above 90 percent consistently across all cabins.
Its profit has surged by 62 percent, making $1.37 billion for 2007/2008 despite the high cost of fuel.
The airline’s gross revenue increased 32 percent to $10 billion during the period when it carried 21.2 million passengers, an increase of 3.7 million over the previous year.
However, in spite of the bad press elicited by BA’s mishandling of a deportee on a London-Lagos flight, the airline is said to be enjoying very strong loads ex-Lagos. But BA’s Nigerian flights are still landing in terminal four rather than its new and exclusive, a fact that is being criticised as discriminatory.
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