► TURKEY: "Leaked" document purportedly shows Turkish Airlines' planned Africa route expansion plans for 2013.

A leaked document (and we use the term "leaked" in the loosest possible way) purporting to show Turkish Airlines' (TK) intended route expansion time line has been published on the web. According to the document, TK is planning an aggressive expansion into West and Central Africa though Southern Africa appears to remain largely neglected for the foreseeable future.

► NIGERIA: Chanchangi Airlines resumes ops with flights between Lagos, Abuja and Kaduna.

Kaduna-based Nigerian carrier, Chanchangi Airlines (5B), is to resume flight operations once more, with flights being offered between Lagos to Kaduna and Lagos to Abuja, according to the company's official Twitter.

► NIGERIA: KLM, Air France announce capacity changes on Nigeria routes for 2013.

KLM Dutch Airlines (KL) and Air France (AF) have announced various changes to their Nigerian operations for 2013. Effective 31 March 2013, Air France is to boost capacity on its Abuja/Port Harcourt route while for the duration of June, KLM is to reduce capacity on its Lagos flights.

► GAMBIA: Gambia Bird takes delivery of second Airbus A319; prepares to expand network.

Gambia Bird (3G) has announced the delivery of a second Airbus A319 (MSN 4691 | D-ASTB) as the fledgling carrier prepares to expand its network with the launch of flights to Abidjan, Abuja, Bamako, Douala and Ouagadougou.

► NIGERIA: Egyptair boosts capacity to Abuja over December/January period.

Egyptian national carrier, Egyptair (MS) will, over December 2012 and January 2013, increase its capacity on its Cairo – Abuja, Nigeria route with an Airbus A330-200 operating for selected periods instead of the usual Boeing 737-800 aircraft. 

► NIGERIA: Aero Contractors to start daily Abuja-Calabar flights from December.

Nigerian airline, Aero Contractors (AJ), will from 1 December 2012, commence daily Boeing 737-500 flights between Abuja and the south eastern city of Calabar, Cross River State.

► NIGERIA: Med-View Airlines to launch on 8 November with Lagos - Abuja, Lagos Port Harcourt.

Med-View Airline (VL) have announced they will launch scheduled ops effective Thursday 8 November 2012. According to its lulzy, amateurish website, the airline will operate domestically with Lagos - Abuja, Lagos - Port Harcourt as its initial routes, whilst Abuja - Port Harcourt and Maiduguri - Yola are to come later.

■ NIGERIA: Arik Air celebrates 6th birthday, plans large network expansion.

Nigeria's largest carrier, Arik Air (W3), celebrated its 6th birthday at an event held at its corporate headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria. 

► NIGERIA: FirstNation Airways A320s repoed by lessors?

Nigerian aviation blog Aviation in Nigeria is reporting that domestic carrier FirstNation Airways' (FRN) three leased Airbus A320s have been repossessed by their owners, US based Aviation Capital Group, though the report has yet to be verified by independent sources.

► NIGERIA: Passenger arrested after going crazy on Arik Air flight.

Nigeria's Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah-Ogiewonyi, moved quickly to dispel any rumours of an "attempted bombing" of an Arik Air (W3) domestic flight from Maiduguri to Abuja, in which a passenger is said to have suddenly started shouting "Allahu Akhabar!" (God is Great!), culminating in him being tackled by fellow passengers. 

► NIGERIA: IRS Airlines Fokker 100 collides with FAAN truck whilst taxiing at Lagos; no casualties.

In an incident that strongly resembles an Arik Air B737's run-in with the wing tip of a parked Nigerian Air Force C130 Hercules aircraft at Jos Airport in July, an IRS Airlines (LVB) Fokker 100, taxiing for departure as flight LVB3306 from Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos to Kano via Abuja (Nigeria), this morning (07h48L) hit a truck belonging to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). 

► NIGERIA: See pics of Overland Airways' new ATR72!

Ikeja-based Overland Airways (OJ), a Nigerian domestic carrier, is set to receive its first ATR 72 (F-WNUA) for use on its network, currently comprising Lagos, Abuja, Asaba, Ilorin, Minna, Calabar, Bauchi and Ibadan.

► NIGERIA: Turkish Airlines applies for Abuja & Kano; considers Enugu.

Turkish Airlines (TK) has reportedly applied for clearance to the Nigerian Government for permission to start flights between Istanbul and Abuja, Kano and possibly Enugu according to news reports out of Nigeria.

Should the routes be granted, they would be Turkish Airlines' second, third and fourth destinations in Nigeria after Lagos, which they have served since 2006.

Chief Executive Officer and President of Turkish Airlines, Dr. Temel Kotil had this to say:

“With its huge resources, Africa is the place to go. We want to expand our business in that continent.  With her huge population and resources, we want to increase our flights to Nigeria.  We want to fly into Abuja, Kano and Enugu.”

Read More Here [Vanguard Nigeria]

Turkish Airlines Africa Network

Turkish Airlines has seen its African Market share rise to 3% in the last 10 years with an aggressive push into various markets, the most adventurous of which has been its service to Mogadishu, Somalia which started this year.

Currently, it serves 21 destinations, the latest being Kinshasa whose service will begin in August. Rumours are afoot that  Conakry (Guinea), Freetown (Sierra Leone) and  Douala (Cameroon) are also inline to be added, however, no official confirmation from Turkish Airlines could be obtained.

► NIGERIA: Arik Air announces Winter changes to New York; suffers two incidents in 3 hours.

Nigerian carrier Arik Air (W3) has announced changes to its Winter 2012 Lagos, Nigeria - New York route effective 29 October 2012. The route is presently served with an Airbus A340-500 wet leased from HiFly Air Transport.

► NIGERIA: FirstNation flights suspended 'til July; Air Nigeria grounded by NCAA again.

The local civil aviation scene in Nigeria continues to undergo a severe shake up as a consequence of the  Dana Air Flight 9J-997 tragedy.

► KENYA: Kenya Airways announces vast changes to Summer Schedule.

Kenya Airways (KQ) has announced sweeping changes to its Summer Schedule, suspending several routes most notably Rome (Italy), and Muscat (Oman) due to low uptake, whilst announcing new destinations that are to be launched between July and October 2012 including Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), Eldoret (Kenya), Abuja (Nigeria) and Beirut (Lebanon).

Kenya Airways Route Map

The optimized schedule comes as the airline moves to increase frequencies on existing routes to meet changing and growing demand, while opening new routes in Africa and the Middle East. Kenya Airways Group Managing Director, Dr. Titus Naikuni said the decision to halt operations on the routes was also based on insufficient demand to sustain the routes.

"“Owing to the decreased passenger volumes on these routes, we have decided to re-align our capacity across the entire network to meet growing demand on other destinations including new ones,” said Dr Naikuni."

Kenya Airways' Summer 2012 Schedule

Kenya (Domestic) 

• Kisumu City boosted with introduction of an extra frequency over the weekends bringing it to 4x daily. On specific weekdays the airline will maintain its 3x daily flights. An Embraer E190 will be deployed on the route especially in the mornings and evenings. 

 Africa

• All Lagos daytime flights to Accra are combined as KQ 534 operating Nairobi – Lagos – Accra – Nairobi. As a result, Kenya Airways will be flying into Accra 12 times a week and 9 times a week to Lagos.  
• Additionally, the introduction of wide-body capacity into and out of Lagos and Accra is set to have significant impact on Kenya Airways’ passenger and cargo revenue streams as it will enable it to offer more capacity and minimum connecting time between Guangzhou, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Dubai, Mumbai and West Africa.  
• Ndjamena increased to 3x direct flights a week.
• Dakar will now connect through Ouagadougou which increases flights to OUA to 3 times a week. 
• Bamako flights will operate via Cotonou 3 times a week; this is expected to ease out on the payload issues that the Bamako passengers have experienced in the past. 

Middle East & Asia

• Mumbai, India is increased from daily to 10 flights a week with 3x weekly flights to Delhi. 
• Jeddah, Saudi Arabia has an extra flight added, bringing the frequency to 3x weekly effective July 2012. 
• New direct flight to Dubai which will operate 3x a week with late evening departures from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to capture the late connecting traffic arriving into Nairobi. This is in addition to the daily Dubai service that the airline operates. The airline will now operate 10 non-stop flights to Dubai.

Europe

• Europe has a capacity increase despite the suspension of Rome flights.
• Effective July 2012, flights to London Heathrow will increase to 10 flights per week on the 322 seater Boeing 777-200. This is to cater for increased traffic demand during the Olympics. 
• Paris flights will increase to 6 weekly flights during the July – August peak period and the daily Amsterdam capacity will be upgraded to a Boeing 777-200. 

Read More Here [Kenya Airways]

► NIGERIA: Dana Air MD-83 slams into building in Lagos; 153 feared dead.

A Nigerian Dana Air (9J) McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (5N-RAM) has crashed into a building in Iju neighbourhood (more specifically: near Ayinla Bus Stop, north of the airport, Iju Ishaga road, Agege), Lagos, Nigeria whilst on approach into Murtala Muhammad International Airport, en route from Abuja. 

Dana Air MD-83 "5N-RAM"

There were 153 (147 passengers and 6 crew) people on-board - all of whom are feared dead - whilst there are more casualties on the ground whose numbers are yet to be established.

Conflicting media reports state that the aircraft, whilst on approach into Lagos, initially hit power-lines, before careering through a furniture shop and then into residential buildings, before bursting into flames, though this version of events still has to be verified.

On May 10, another  Dana Air MD-83 (5N-SRI) was on approach into Lagos when an on-board hydraulic failure was reported. The aircraft continued for a safe landing thereafter.

The MD-83 down in Lagos (NigerianEye)

For More images click here.

Today's disaster comes after a Nigerian registered Allied Air Cargo Boeing 727-200 freighter (5N-BJN) yesterday (Saturday 2 June 2012) overran the runway at Accra's Kotoka International Airport and killed 12 people on the ground: 11 occupants of a Benz 207 Bus and a soldier riding a bike along the road.

■ NIGERIA: Phase II of airport renovations to begin in June; Abuja to get new International Terminal.

Nigerian's Aviation Minister Stella Oduah has announced plans by the Nigerian Government to embark on the second phase of a project to renovate and remodel various airports in Nigeria, in order to "upgrade the quality of services being rendered at airports across the country."

The Minister also said that airports involved in the first phase - amongst them Murtala Muhammed International Airport (Lagos); Nnamdi Azikiwe Intenational Airport (Abuja); Owerri Airport; Yola Airport and Benin Airport - were to be reinaugurated by the end of May, with Phase 2 to begin on 1st June 2012.

Asaba Airport, Nigeria (Ken Iwelumo)

Oduah also announced that plans had been concluded to build a new international terminal at Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja this year, with the existing international terminal being turned into a domestic terminal, while the old domestic terminal would now be General Aviation (GAT) and Hajj terminal.

"According to her, the projects are being strictly monitored to ensure that contractors do not deliver substandard jobs.
She said, “We have our quality control group working with the contractors at all times; we want to make sure we don’t play with users’ safety, which is why we are doing total restructuring and remodelling."

Read More Here [Punching Nigeria]

The call for enforced transparency follows the attempted arrest on Monday of the Managing Director of the Lagos-based Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), George Uriesi, on suspected allegations of graft by the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Uriesi evaded arrest as he was said to "have left for Abuja on an official duty."

► NETHERLANDS: KLM announces changes to Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam, Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Cairo, Khartoum, Addis Ababa, Lusaka.

KLM (KL) has announced changes to their summer timetable effective 4th May 2012.

Amsterdam – Kilimanjaro – Dar es Salaam – Amsterdam 

• 17MAY12 – 31MAY12 Increase from 6 weekly to Daily, A330-200 operating
• 01JUN12 – 30JUN12 Airbus A330-300 replaces A330-200, Daily 
• 01JUL12 – 31JUL12 Boeing 777-200ER operates Daily 
• 01AUG12 – 27OCT12 Boeing 777-300ER replaces -200ER on Day x245

 Amsterdam – Lagos  

• 28MAY12 – 30JUN12 Airbus A330-200 replaces -300, daily operation

Amsterdam – Abuja – Kano – Amsterdam

• 3 weekly service cancelled from 03JUN12

Amsterdam – Cairo

• Service reduced from daily to 3 weekly, 777-200ER operating

 
Amsterdam – Khartoum – Addis Ababa eff 18MAY12

• Operational Day change from Day 2 4 6 to Day 2 5 7 

Amsterdam – Lusaka eff 15MAY12

• Service resumption with A330-200, 3 times a week

Read More Here [AirlineRoute]

► GHANA: Starbow Airlines leases BAe146-300; To start Cotonou, Abidjan, Monrovia, Abuja, Ouagadougou.

Starbow Airlines (S9), a Ghanaian airline that commenced operations in 2011, has announced the lease of a BAe146-300 from Fair Aviation of Lanseria Airport, Johannesburg, South Africa.