General

Heathrow Cancels Flights on Monday

Published

2 years ago

September 16, 2022

Heathrow Airport has said about 15% of its schedule will be altered on Monday during Queen Elizabeth’s state funeral.

This is to ensure the skies over London fall quiet during the events, it said.
There will be flight cancellations as a result, including 100 British Airways flights and four Virgin Atlantic flights.

Separately tens of thousands of passengers are set to be affected by a French air traffic control strike on Friday.

Among the cancelled flights will be many that fly over France, not just to and from the country.

Heathrow disruption
Heathrow said that all takeoffs and landings on Monday will be delayed for 15 minutes before and after the two-minute silence at the end of the funeral.

Following that, there will be no arrivals between 13:45 BST and 14:20 BST during the procession of the hearse, and no departures between 15:03 BST and 16:45 for the ceremonial procession via the Long Walk to Windsor Castle.

Between 16:45 BST and 21:00 BST, departures will be reduced to support the committal service at St George’s Chapel.

Flights will also be diverted around Windsor Castle “to minimise noise during the private family service and interment”, it said.

In a statement, Heathrow apologised for the inconvenience but said that “as a mark of respect, operations to and from the airport will be subject to appropriate changes in order to avoid noise disruption at certain locations at specific times on Monday”.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has issued guidance which means that air passengers whose flights are cancelled or badly delayed on Monday because of Heathrow’s changes will not legally be entitled to financial compensation. That is because these are likely to be deemed extraordinary circumstances.

However, airlines are offering customers refunds or re-bookings.

British Airways said its cancellations were on short-haul European flights where multiple services run on the same route, and that it was adding larger aircraft where possible to help customers re-book on operating flights.

Alternatively they can choose to have a refund. No long-haul BA flights will be affected but some will be re-timed.

Virgin Atlantic also apologised for the inconvenience. A spokesperson said passengers on the affected flights, between Los Angeles, San Francisco and Heathrow, would be rebooked on alternative same-day services wherever possible, or could rebook for later dates, take a voucher or request a refund.

It said the airport and airlines were working closely with the air navigation service provider NATS to minimise the impact of these restrictions on passengers.

A Heathrow spokesperson added that extra staff would be on hand in terminals to support passengers, and that people were encouraged to travel on public transport instead of by car, because roads around the airport would be extremely busy.

Other changes at Heathrow during the period of national mourning include observing the National Moment of Reflection with a one-minute silence at 20:00 on Sunday, showing the Queen’s funeral on screens at the airport on Monday, and closing non-essential shops.

Shops deemed “essential”, such as WH Smith, Boots and Travelex, will remain open along with restaurants, cafes and pubs.

Separately, tens of thousands of passengers are set be affected by a French air traffic control strike on Friday.

Ryanair has cancelled 420 flights, most of which were scheduled to fly over France, affecting 80,000 passengers.

EasyJet is cancelling 76 flights, British Airways will cancel 22, while Air France said it would only run 45% of its short-haul flights.

The SNCTA air traffic control union said the walkout was over wages, as inflation soars, and recruitment.

Ryanair said all passengers affected had been notified this morning. The low-cost carrier normally operates more than 3,000 flights per day.

Neal McMahon, Ryanair operations director, said it was “inexplicable” that thousands of European citizens and visitors “will have their travel plans unfairly disrupted”.

“It is inexcusable that passengers who are not even flying to or from France are disrupted,” he said.

He said French laws protect French domestic flights, but not ones flying over the country.

“It is time that the European Union step in and protect overflights so that European passengers are not repeatedly held to ransom by a tiny French air traffic control union,” he said.

Affected airlines
Ryanair called for other European air traffic controllers to be allowed to manage flights over France to ease the impact.

Budget rival EasyJet said it had cancelled flights at the request of French authorities.

EasyJet said: “While this is outside of our control, we would like to apologise to our customers for any inconvenience they may experience.”

British Airways will cancel 22 flights – or 11 return – to and from Heathrow, including some which fly over France. It also said there could be some extra delays on the day.

Air France KLM said the French civil aviation authority – DGAC – had asked airlines to cut their Friday schedules from all French airports by 50%.

Air France said it would only run 45% of its short and medium-haul flights, and 90% of long-haul. It also warned delays and last minute cancellations could not be ruled out.

The flight cuts affect the whole of France, the DGAC said, adding that it was currently working with the European air travel regulator Eurocontrol to help airlines avoid the country’s air space.

Strikes across the aviation industry caused severe disruption to Europe’s summer traffic, including ground and cabin personnel, who sought pay rises to cope with increased living costs amid high inflation.

In July, several strikes by firefighters and staff at Paris’ Charles De Gaulle airport led to cancellations and delays.

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Atiku Honored On 77th Birthday As AUN Marks Founder’s Day

Published

12 months ago

November 27, 2023

Matthew Eloyi

Atiku Honored On 77th Birthday As AUN Marks Founder’s Day

By Ibrahim Abubakar

Yola, the capital city of Adamawa State and its environs, was in a festive mood to celebrate the 77th birthday of its illustrious son, Atiku Abubakar, who was being honored by the American University of Nigeria (AUN), the institution that he established to advance the course of education in Nigeria, on its founder’s ceremony.

In his address, Atiku did a critical appraisal of the performance of the university in its 19 years of existence.

He noted that 19 years is the age of accountability, stating that it is time for stock-taking.

Quoting Socrates, the legendary Greek philosopher, he said that: “unexamined life is not worth living.”

The 2023 PDP presidential candidate raised some fundamental questions about whether the school has followed the vision of its founder in providing American-styled educational system that focuses on leadership development, critical thinking and problem solving and skills, noting that even if the school is not established for profit making purposes, it should generate enough revenue for self-sustenance and to plough back for future development.

Atiku declared that part of his vision was to make the university grow and serve humanity and not to make money for him, stating that he has never collected any money from the school in the 19 years of its establishment.

He said the school is a gift from him to the society and humanity to provide world-class educational platform to develop future leaders.

Atiku therefore enjoined the university administration to be more dynamic and align more proactively to the changing economic and technological world.

He charged them to re-examine their strategies, define their priorities and look for new ways and tools to generate revenue to be self-sustaining.

The high point of the occasion was the commissioning of the Law Faculty of the university by the founder.

In the welcome address at the event attended by many dignitaries from across the country, the Chairman of the Governing Council of the university, Senator Ben Obi welcomed the guests while wishing Atiku Abubakar a happy birthday.

He explained that the purpose of the occasion was to celebrate the founder and the former vice president of the country (1999-2007) and to inaugurate the new president of the university.

Speaking at the occasion, the keynote speaker, Dr. Steven Titus, who is a veteran college administrator and the President Emeritus of the Iowa Wesleyan University, hinted on the importance of the occasion.

He praised the founder for his commitment to education and the vision of establishing the university.

And while presenting a birthday gift to Atiku on behalf of his family, he said that he was moved by the founder’s passion and love for education, describing Atiku as a gift to the world of education.

In his own speech, Professor De Wayne Frazier who is installed as the 6th President of the University thanked Atiku for his vision, generosity for establishing the University, and the opportunity given to him to be part of that vision.

He also thanked the chairman of the governing council for the support, stating that his inauguration marks the beginning of a new era in the history of the university.

He promised to uphold the values of excellence and integrity as enshrined in the foundation of the university, pledging to build on the already laid foundation to move the institution to greater heights.

General

NEMA, SEMA distribute food items to Sokoto flood victims

Published

1 year ago

November 8, 2023

Matthew Eloyi

NEMA, SEMA distribute food items to Sokoto flood victims

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in collaboration with the Sokoto State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has commenced the distribution of food and non-consumables to victims of the 2023 flood in the state.

This was disclosed in a statement signed on Wednesday and made available to newsmen by SEMA’s Information Officer, Abubakar Abdullahi.

According to the statement, the distribution which started on Tuesday, was part of efforts to leverage the pains suffered by residents of the Kebbe Local Government Area of the state over the flood.

SEMA Special Adviser, Nasiru Kalambaina, who was represented by the Director, Relief and Rehabilitation, Mustapha Umar, urged the beneficiaries to make use of the items judiciously.

While speaking in his remarks before the flag-off, the Sole Administrator, Kebbe LGA, Sanusi Kebbe, used the medium to thank and commend the Sokoto SEMA for the quick facilitation of items brought to them by the NEMA.

Some of the beneficiaries who spoke with newsmen commended NEMA and the state government for the timely arrival of the items.

Meanwhile, SEMA and the state’s NEMA operation office jointly assessed the situation of banditry incidents that led to the displacement of various communities in the Sangi, Ungushi, Girkau and Margai wards of the LGA.

During the assessment, the joint team discovered that over 200 households were affected by the banditry incidence out of which many were said to be killed by the bandits.

Speaking during the inspection, Kebbe commended the joint team for coming to assess the situation.

In his remarks, Umar sympathised with the affected communities on behalf of the state government and assured them that after the assessment, a report would be compiled by both agencies to be forwarded to the appropriate concerned authorities for further necessary actions.

The assessment was witnessed and also coordinated by SEMA’s Director of Finance, Kabiru Garba, while NEMA Sokoto’s head of operation was represented by Amìnu Ambursa.

NEMA, SEMA distribute food items to Sokoto flood victims

General

Appeal Court declares Natasha winner of Kogi Central Senatorial election

Published

1 year ago

October 31, 2023

Matthew Eloyi

Natasha sworn in as Kogi Central Senator

Appeal Court declares Natasha winner of Kogi Central Senatorial election

The Court of Appeal in Abuja, on Tuesday, declared Natasha Akpoti-Uduagan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the Kogi Central Senatorial Election held in February 2023.

The court further dismissed the appeal filed by Abubakar Ohere of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for lacking in merit.

Recall that the state’s Election Petitions Tribunal, in September, had invalidated the victory of Ohere and declared Akpoti-Uduagan winner of the Kogi Central Senatorial election.

The Tribunal Chairman, Justice K. A. Orjiako, delivered the unanimous judgment of the three-man panel, revealing that Ohere’s results were inflated in nine polling units in the Ajaokuta Local Government Area.

He added that the Independent National Electoral Commission reduced Natasha’s results in those areas and omitted the results of three other polling units meant for Natasha in the same LGA.

The Tribunal judgment led Ohere to seek redress. However, the Appeal Court further maintained that Akpoti-Uduagan won the election.

Reacting to the appeal court verdict, Akpoti-Uduagan posted on her official Facebook page “We won the Appeal. Joy amidst tears. Thank you Kogi Central. This is us together 🙏🏽”