Lagos, Oct. 29, 2025 -A leading financial institution, Fidelity Bank Plc, has commended Air Peace for its historic inaugural direct flight from Abuja to London Heathrow on Sunday, Oct.26, 2026. The bank described the milestone as a bold testament to Nigerian excellence in global aviation. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, the bank’s Managing Director, in a statement issued following the launch, praised Air Peace for its resilience and vision. The chief executive said the airline’s expansion into the prestigious Heathrow route reflects the strength of indigenous enterprise and the growing confidence …
Trump gets royal welcome in Japan, China trade truce hopes rise
Tokyo, Oct 27, 2025 – U.S. President Donald Trump received a royal welcome on Monday in Japan, the latest leg of a five-day Asia trip which he hopes to cap with an agreement on a trade war truce with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump, making his longest journey abroad since taking office in January, announced a flurry of deals on trade and critical minerals with four Southeast Asian nations during the first stop in Malaysia and is set to meet Xi in South Korea on Thursday. Negotiators from the world’s top two economies …
Trump’s new visa fees spur offshoring talks, hiring turmoil
New York, Sept 24, 2025 – The Trump administration’s hefty new visa fees for H-1B workers have prompted high-level talks inside companies in Silicon Valley and beyond on the possibility of moving more jobs overseas – precisely the outcome the policy was meant to stop. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday announced the change to the visa program that has long been a recruitment pathway for tech firms and encouraged international students to pursue postgraduate courses in the U.S. While the $100,000 levy applies only to new applicants – …
Trump unveils gold, platinum visas to cost up to $5 million
Washington, Sept. 21, 2025 – President Donald Trump announced a new visa program for the world’s wealthy, a much-anticipated effort to encourage them to immigrate to the US by offering residency permits for a hefty price tag. “They’re going to spend a lot of money to come in,” Trump told reporters Friday in the Oval Office as he signed the order to create the visa program. “It’s going to raise billions of dollars, billions and billions of dollars, which is going to go to reduce taxes, pay off debt and …
Bombardier hails Dangote refinery as jet fuel game-changer for aviation industry
Lagos, Sept. 20, 2025 – Canadian aerospace manufacturer Bombardier Inc. has thrown its weight behind Aliko Dangote’s multibillion-dollar refinery, calling the Nigerian facility a benchmark for global energy projects and a potential catalyst for Africa’s aviation sector. Pierre Beaudoin, Bombardier’s chairman, led a high-level delegation to tour the Dangote Petroleum Refinery—billed as the world’s largest single-train refinery—and described its jet fuel production as both environmentally advanced and strategically vital. “The refinery makes jet fuel in large quantity, and that is good for the industry,” Beaudoin said during the visit. “From …
FAAN to hike tariffs on airport service providers, introduce contactless payment system
Lagos, June 23, 2025 – The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) is to increase tariffs on airport service providers. Adebola Agunbiade, the FAAN Director of Commercial and Business Development, disclosed this in Lagos on Monday at a stakeholders’ forum. She said the tariff hike was to boost internal revenue at airports as well as block revenue leakages. The director said the authority had discovered that 92 percent of its revenue was coming from aeronautical sources, while only eight percent was coming from non-aeronautical sources unlike what obtained in developed …
FG secures landing slot for Air Peace at Heathrow Airport in London
Abuja, June 23, 2025 – The Federal Government has secured a landing slot for Air Peace Airline at Heathrow Airport in London effective from October 26. Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, disclosed this in a statement at the weekend. The statement, signed by Tunde Moshood, the minister’s Special Adviser on Media and Communications, said the achievement followed sustained diplomatic efforts by the Federal Government to enforce reciprocity in international air travel agreements. He said the achievement was after months of negotiations and firm diplomatic engagement with …
FG announces temporary closure of Enugu airport
Enugu, April 19, 2025 – The federal government on Saturday announced the temporary closure of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu State. Obiageli Orah, the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection in the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), disclosed this in a statement. The statement said the development was to allow urgent repairs of a sudden rupture on the runway. “There is a sudden and significant rupture in the asphalt surface at a critical section of the runway. “Hence, emergency repairs will be conducted on that portion …
Trump considering imposing travel ban on 22 African countries
Washington, March 31, 2025 – The US president, Donald Trump, is considering imposing a travel ban on almost half of Africa’s countries. The majority of the countries on the shortlist of 43 are African. In a document The New York Times shared, an internal Trump proposal lists nations whose citizens could face restrictions on entering the US. Somalia, Libya, and Sudan are African countries in the ‘Red’ category (all travel is banned). Under ‘Orange’ (visas sharply restricted) are Eritrea, Sierra Leone, and South Sudan. The nations under ‘Yellow’ (given 60 …
Max Air resumes domestic flight operations Friday
Abuja, March 18, 2025 – Max Air is to resume its domestic flight operations from Friday after the completion of an economic and safety audit. This was disclosed by Michael Achimugu, the Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, in the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) in a statement on Monday. Achimugu said the NCAA was able to conduct a thorough safety and economic audit of the airline during the period of the suspension. He said the safety audit, which took place from Feb. 26 to Feb. 28, 2025, involved a …