Headlines

BA stops selling short-haul flights out of Heathrow.

Published

2 years ago

August 2, 2022

British Airways has halted sales of tickets on short-haul flights from Heathrow Airport until 8 August as disruption to air travel continues.

The move is due to the cap on daily passenger numbers that the UK’s largest airport has imposed over the summer.

The sales suspension will affect BA’s flights to domestic and European destinations.

Thousands of air travelers have been hit by disruption in recent weeks, including last-minute cancellations.

Airports and airlines, which cut jobs during Covid lockdowns, have found it difficult to recruit enough staff as demand for holidays has returned.

Heathrow Airport has struggled to cope with the rebound in air travel and problems with its baggage handling systems have also led to passengers seeing huge delays in reclaiming their luggage.

Last month, Heathrow told airlines to stop selling summer tickets, as it said it would limit the number of passengers departing each day to 100,000 – 4,000 fewer than previously scheduled.

The cap on numbers is set to remain in place until 11 September.

As BA is the largest airline at Heathrow it is affected by the limit more than other carriers.

In a statement, BA said: “As a result of Heathrow’s request to limit new bookings, we’ve decided to take responsible action and limit the available fares on some Heathrow services to help maximize rebooking options for existing customers, given the restrictions imposed on us and the ongoing challenges facing the entire aviation industry.”

Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of travel agent industry body Advantage Travel Partnership, told the BBC the move was “positive news” for consumers.

“The whole idea is that you allow space on flights for anybody that is on a flight that has been disrupted – it enables [BA] to scale up,” she said.

“In one sense it sounds quite counter-intuitive that an airline would be reducing seats at its peak period but it’s absolutely all about building resilience, making sure there’s less disruption, ensuring that those people that have booked… that there’ll be less risk to those flights being disrupted.”

Stopping selling some tickets from Britain’s biggest airport in the lucrative summer peak, when demand is strong, is not something you would normally expect an airline to be doing.

But this is not a normal summer.

The decision follows Heathrow’s extraordinary decision to limit traffic to a level the system can cope with, given ongoing resourcing challenges.

It is understood British Airways was close to reaching the number of passengers it could carry under that cap this week.

The decision is meant to prevent last-minute bookings. And it should leave some leeway in the system for where rebooking is needed.

This is not about cancellations – existing bookings are not affected.

But it will limit passengers’ last-minute options at a time when capacity has been squeezed and many prices have risen.

It is not clear yet whether more ticket suspensions could follow.

BA has cut nearly 30,000 flights from its April-to-October schedule in response to staffing problems.

On Friday, BA owner IAG reported its first profit since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, despite facing what it called a “challenging” environment at Heathrow Airport.

The company said the problems at Heathrow had forced British Airways to limit its capacity to 69.1% of pre-pandemic levels between April and June, and this was expected to increase to about 75% between July and October.

A row broke out last week between Ryanair and Heathrow after the airline said airports had not recruited enough staff to cater to the rebound in travelers, saying they “had one job to do”.

But Heathrow hit back at the criticism, describing it as “bizarre”.

“Airports don’t provide ground handling, that’s provided by the airlines themselves. So, this is like accusing us of not having enough pilots,” said Heathrow’s chief executive John Holland-Kaye.

Virgin Atlantic also criticized the airport, claiming it was responsible for failures that were contributing to the chaos.

Emirates Airlines had initially rejected Heathrow’s request to cut flight capacity but later agreed to cap sales following talks between the two companies.

Last month the Competition and Markets Authority and Civil Aviation Authority issued a joint letter to carriers raising concerns that “consumers could experience significant harm unless airlines meet their obligations”.

The letter said there were concerns some airlines may not be doing everything they could to avoid harmful practices, including selling more tickets for flights than they could reasonably expect to supply.

Africa

Customs hands over illicit drugs worth N117.59m to NDLEA

Published

2 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Matthew Eloyi

Customs hands over illicit drugs worth N117.59m to NDLEA

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Ogun Area 1 Command, has handed over illicit drugs worth N117.59 million to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

The Comptroller of the command, Mr James Ojo, disclosed this during the handing over of the drugs to Mr Olusegun Adeyeye, the Commander of NDLEA, Idiroko Special Area Command, in Abeokuta, Ogun, on Friday.

Ojo said the customs handed over the seized cannabis and tramadol tablets to the Idiroko Special Command for further investigation in line with the standard operating procedures and inter-agency collaboration.

He said the illicit drugs were seized in various strategic locations between January and November 21, 2024, in Ogun State.

He added that the illicit drugs were abandoned at various locations, including the Abeokuta axis, the Agbawo/Igankoto area of Yewa North Local Government Area, and Imeko Afton axis.

Ojo said that the seizure of the cannabis sativa and tramaling tablets, another brand of tramadol, was made possible through credible intelligence and strategic operations of the customs personnel.

“The successful interception of these dangerous substances would not have been possible without the robust collaboration and support from our intelligence units, local informants and sister agencies.

“These landmark operations are testament to the unwavering dedication of the NCS to safeguard the health and well-being of our citizens and uphold the rule of law,” he said.

He said the seizures comprised 403 sacks and 6,504 parcels, weighing 7,217.7 kg and 362 packs of tramaling tablets of 225mg each, with a total Duty Paid Value of N117,587,405,00.

He described the height of illicit drugs smuggling in the recent time as worrisome.

This, he said, underscores the severity of drug trafficking within the borders.

“Between Oct. 13 and Nov. 12 alone, operatives intercepted a total of 1,373 parcels of cannabis sativa, weighing 1,337kg and 362 packs of tramaling tablets of 225mg each,” he said.

Ojo said the seizures had disrupted the supply chain of illicit drugs, thereby mitigating the risks those substances posed to the youth, families and communities.

He lauded the synergy between its command, security agencies and other stakeholders that led to the remarkable achievements.

Ojo also commended the Comptroller General of NCS for creating an enabling environment for the command to achieve the success.

Responding, Adeyeye, applauded the customs for achieving the feat.

Adeyeye pledged to continue to collaborate with the customs to fight against illicit trade and drug trafficking in the state.

Economy

Customs intercepts N30m worth of PMS in Operation Whirlwind

Published

3 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Matthew Eloyi

The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) on Friday said that it had intercepted 849 kegs of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), worth over N30 million in retail price from Operation Whirlwind.

The Comptroller of Customs, Hussein Ejibunu, made this known during a news conference in Ikeja.

“Today, we have another seizure of 849 kegs of PMS containing 25 litres each. This translates to 30,225 litres with duty paid value at N30.225 million only at the NNPCL retail price.

“Today marks yet another success recorded by the operatives of Operation Whirlwind, Zone “A” Lagos/Ogun Axis.

“About five weeks ago, same PMS products were displayed before you here on the parade ground of the college where several seizures were made,” Ejibunu said.

“On this note, we wish to thank the National Security Adviser and the Comptroller-General of Customs for their unwavering support,” Ejibunu said.

The coordinator of the Operation Whirlwind said that two vehicles of means of conveyance were intercepted along with the seizures.

Ejibunu said that they evacuated 80 Jerry Cans each from a vehicle.

He assured the public that Operation Whirlwind remains steadfast in its efforts to clamp down on PMS smugglers, ensuring no room for their illegal activities nationwide.

Africa

Ann-Kio Briggs Faults Tinubu for Scrapping Niger Delta Ministry

Published

3 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Matthew Eloyi

Prominent Niger Delta human rights activist and environmentalist, Ann-Kio Briggs, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s decision to scrap the Ministry of Niger Delta, describing it as ill-advised and detrimental to the oil-rich region.

Briggs expressed her concerns during an appearance on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a socio-political programme aired on Channels Television.

“The Ministry of Niger Delta was created by the late (President Umaru) Yar’Adua. There was a reason for the creation. So, just removing it because the president was advised. I want to believe that he was advised because if he did it by himself, that would be terribly wrong,” she stated.

President Tinubu, in October, dissolved the Ministry of Niger Delta and replaced it with the Ministry of Regional Development, which is tasked with overseeing all regional development commissions, including the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), North-West Development Commission, and North-East Development Commission.

Briggs questioned the rationale behind the restructuring, expressing concerns about its feasibility and implications. “But that’s not going to be the solution because who is going to fund the commissions? Is it the regions because it is called the Regional Development Ministry? Is it the states in the regions? What are the regions because we don’t work with regions right now; we are working with geopolitical zones,” she remarked.

She added, “Are we going back to regionalism? If we are, we have to discuss it. The president can’t decide on his own to restructure Nigeria. If we are restructuring Nigeria, the president alone can’t restructure Nigeria, he has to take my opinion and your opinion into consideration.”

Briggs also decried the longstanding neglect of the Niger Delta despite its significant contributions to Nigeria’s economy since 1958. “The Niger Delta has been developing Nigeria since 1958. We want to use our resources to develop our region; let regions use their resources to develop themselves,” she asserted.

Reflecting on the various bodies established to address the region’s development, Briggs lamented their failure to deliver meaningful progress. She highlighted the Niger Delta Basin Authority, the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC), and the NDDC as examples of ineffective interventions.

“NDDC was created by Olusegun Obasanjo…There was OMPADEC before NDDC. OMPADEC was an agency. Before OMPADEC, there was the Basin Authority…These authorities were created to help us. Were we helped by those authorities? No, we were not,” she said.

Briggs further described the NDDC as an “ATM for failed politicians, disgruntled politicians, and politicians that have had their electoral wins taken away from them and given to somebody else.”

Her remarks underscore the deep-seated frustrations in the Niger Delta, where residents continue to advocate for greater control over their resources and improved governance.