NaijaWire

Archive for the ‘travel’ Category

Houston - The name Shola Ajani rings a bell among the Nigerian elite society in the United Kingdom, most of West Africa, and ofcourse back home in Nigeria. While very little is known about this super-talented Nigerian professional in North America, the continent awaits him and his entourage as they storm the United States and Canada, in their first ever, North America job exhibition aimed at recruiting top Nigerian brains presently living or studying in these two countries, back home to work for leading firms in the private sector.

London - The British Aviation Authorities has given approval to Arik Air (Nigeria) to begin scheduled operations to London through the Heathrow Airport starting from November, 2008.

A statement by the airline’s Media Officer, Mr. Adebanji Ola, said that the news of the permit was broken by the Chairman, Mr. Joseph Arumemi-Johnson, at a general meeting with the staff and management in Lagos on Saturday.

According to Arumemi-Johnson, with the granting of the highly coveted Heathrow slot by the British Aviation Authorities, the airline will commence direct flights into the UK by November this year.

France - European Union (EU) interior ministers have pushed for a rapid agreement on new guidelines for controlling immigration, rejecting concerns that the plan would create a fortress Europe.

“It is a good proposal for a common position for everybody,” said Czech Interior Minister Ivan Langer as he arrived for informal EU talks in the French Riviera resort city of Cannes.

The “European Pact on Immigration and Asylum” sets out principles for the EU to manage migration, fight illegal immigration and help development in poor countries that people are leaving or traveling through to get to Europe.

London - The British government has announced its plans to modernize the short-term visa system to ensure that the country is attractive to business and tourism, while deterring those who seek to break the rules.

In the new system, the key points are that: the maximum leave for visitors will remain at six months; new sponsored family visitor category with licensed sponsors vouching for their family members’ visits.

No plans to introduce financial bonds for family visitors; new proposals for tourist visas, including group travel and special events visas and; a distinct clear category for business visitors.

Lagos - A complete blackout that engulfed the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos, the nation‘s premier aviation facility, left thousands of Lagos-bound passengers stranded at several airports across the country on Tuesday.

It was learnt that public power supply to the airport as with other public and private facilities had been erratic and the airport operator, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, usually relied on generators to power the terminal, communication facilities and runway lighting systems.

But the generators at the MMA packed up on Tuesday and flight operations were grounded for hours, as FAAN engineers battled to put the situation right.