Med-View Airline says it is not indebted to the Gatwick Airport authorities

Med-View Airline says it is not indebted to the Gatwick Airport authorities

….suspends Dubai operations

Med-View Airline yesterday said it was not indebted to the Gatwick Airport Authorities nor its European handlers, Mendez. This is just as the airline announced the suspension of its Lagos- Dubai operations till March 2018 when it will complete its own aircraft’s refurbishment.

Managing Director of Med-view, Alhaji Muneer Bankole disclosed this at the airline’s corporate headquarters in Lagos while reacting to allegations by an online publication that it was due to debts that its London operations had suffered in the last few days.

 Bankole explained that Med-View has paid the Gatwick Airport Authority about “£1.45million as at today and this can be verified”. According to him, the airport authority asks for money upfront for services not rendered, adding that Med-view “was paying for future operations which is not the same anywhere.”

“Consequently, we have taken measures on our Lagos-London route, which will now be serviced by an alternative aircraft currently in operation. We will also maintain three weekly flights”.

On the suspension of Dubai route, the Med-View Managing Director explained that due to the refurbishment of its aircraft on the route, it will have to suspend the Dubai service.

He said: “We have shut down Dubai operations till March when our aircraft B767-300ER Christened ‘ABEKE’ returns from a complete refurbishment in the United Kingdom. Passengers who have booked with us will be flown to their destinations via interline agreements.”

Bankole also revealed that it had serious challenges with its European partners over aircraft leased stating that it had not met the airline’s requirement in providing the necessary capacity.

According to him:  “while we want to leave the past behind us, it is imperative to say that we have issues with our European partners over aircraft we leased from them. From all indications, this aircraft has not been able to meet our requirement in providing the necessary capacity. The United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (UK-CAA) has been supportive of our efforts when it dawned on them that the issues had to do with aircraft.”

He also explained that the airline will still continue its Jeddah schedule via Kano explaining that the new biometric requirements by the Saudi Authorities may cause hitches and dwindling traffic but that it will be resolved.

“We will continue to maintain our Jeddah schedule every Thursday via Kano until the issue of biometrics, which is now a requirement, is resolved.”

Med-View airlines expands to francophone countries

Poised to have a strong presence on the West Coast, Med-View Airline said it will on Friday, October 27 spread its wings to Abidjan, Conakry and Dakar with an inaugural flight.

With the three new cities, the airline now has six destinations on the West Coast as Accra, Monrovia and Freetown are already on its network.

The flights to the new destinations will be three times a week - Monday, Wednesday  and  Friday with early departures (7.30am) from Lagos.

The airline's new generation aircraft -B737-800 is scheduled to service the route.

 Fresh from Saudi Arabia, Medview CEO, Alhaji Muneer Bankole who successfully coordinated the 2017 Hajj in which the airline airlifted over 17,000 pilgrims declared, "our expansion programme is informed by research and planning.

"In the very near future, we will be operating to Johannesburg, South Africa; Lisbon, Portugal; Libreville, Gabon and Houston in the US,' the CEO said.

He disclosed that the airline has already positioned for Dubai come November /December .

CEO, Medview Airline, Muneer Bankole, with his crew members

Airline changes rosters on U.S. flights after Trump’s order

Emirates airline has changed pilot and flight attendant rosters on flights to the U.S. following the sudden U.S. travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries, the report said on Sunday.

However, it said that U.S. flights continue to operate as scheduled.

According to the report, “the world’s largest long-haul carrier, who flies daily to 11 U.S. cities, has made the necessary adjustments to our crewing to comply with the latest requirements”, Emirates spokesperson said.

President Donald Trump had on Friday temporarily suspended the entry of people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

According to the International Air Transport Association, “the decision caught airlines off guard.’’

The ban applies to pilots and flight attendants from the seven countries, even though all flight crew who are not U.S. citizens already needed a special visa to enter the country.

Another Emirates spokesperson said the impact of the ban on operations would be minimal.

The airline employs over 23,000 flight attendants and about four thousand pilots from around the world, including the U.S., Europe and the Middle East.

Meanwhile, an Etihad Airways spokesman said the airline has “taken steps to ensure there will be no issues for flights departing over the coming weeks.”

However, amid confusion over enforcing the ban, it is unclear if the ban applies to dual nationals who hold one passport from a country on the list and another from a non-U.S. country that is not.

Etihad said on its website that dual citizens could travel to the U.S. using their non-banned passport.

According to the report, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), has told its members that the ban does not apply to dual nationals if they have a passport not on the list.

However, the Guardian reported on Saturday, quoting State Department officials, that dual nationals were banned.

Dubai-based Emirates and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways are both owned by the governments of the United Arab Emirates, a U.S. ally and Muslim-majority country.

Both carriers said they would continue to comply with the new rules on U.S. immigration but where possible would offer to refund or rebook affected passengers.

Emirates and Etihad have also said that passengers were affected by the ban over the weekend but their flight crews had not been impacted.

Qatar Airways declined to comment on the impact of the ban on flight operations.

Although, on Saturday, it issued a statement on its website that passengers would need a green card or diplomatic visa to enter the U.S. Emirates and Etihad issued similar statements.

Medview completes delivery of delayed baggage

Medview Airline said it delivered the last batch of the delayed passengers’ baggage on its London-Lagos route on Monday.

Mr Obuke Oyibhota, the media consultant to the airline, disclosed this in a statement obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos.

The airline advised passengers, who were yet to collect their baggage, to do so by visiting the `D Wing’ of the arrival hall in the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

Medview Airline and the passengers’ ordeal started on Dec. 19 when Gatwick Airport closed its main runway for maintenance.

According to the statement, the airport authorities asked the Medview to use a shorter runway, but since the aircraft load was heavier, it could not use that runway with the weight and the baggage were, therefore, offloaded.

“Since then the airline has been doing everything possible to resolve the situation, including entering into an alliance with the British Airways that finally delivered the baggage.

“It said the baggage arrived in three batches from Dec. 31, 2016 to Jan. 2,’’ the statement read in part.

Prior to the delivery, the airline, had on Friday night, sent SMS to all the affected passengers, telling them to check the tag numbers of the baggage that had arrived on its Website.

The statement quoted the Chief Executive Officer of Medview Airline, Alhaji Muneer Bankole, as saying that the airline and passengers’ ordeal over the baggage was over.

He thanked the affected passengers for their understanding and reaffirmed the airline’s commitment to providing them quality services.