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Saudi Arabia Approves Air Arabia-Led Consortium For New Dammam-Based Low-Cost Airline
FAA Allows Boeing To Sell 35 More 777F Freighters Beyond 2028 Emissions Deadline
Indonesia Takes Delivery Of First Aircraft Carrier For Disaster Response Missions
Nigerian Airlines Challenge NCAA Delay Data Over Missing Flights And External Factors
Poland Temporarily Closes Two Airports As Russian Drone Strikes Hit Western Ukraine
Malaysia Reviews Airline Contingency Plans As AirAsia Faces Mounting Financial Pressure
Three Killed After Cirrus SR22T Crashes Into Mountain Slope In Switzerland
Five Killed After Cessna T206 Crashes In Colombia Returning From Medical Mission
US Operations Against Iran Cost $38 Billion As CBO Says Spending Could Rise Further
Korean Air Finalize Record 103 Aircraft Order Covering Four Boeing Jet Models

Saudi Arabia Approves Air Arabia-Led Consortium For New Dammam-Based Low-Cost Airline

Saudi Arabia Approves Air Arabia-Led Consortium For New Dammam-Based Low-Cost Airline

FAA Allows Boeing To Sell 35 More 777F Freighters Beyond 2028 Emissions Deadline

FAA Allows Boeing To Sell 35 More 777F Freighters Beyond 2028 Emissions Deadline

Indonesia Takes Delivery Of First Aircraft Carrier For Disaster Response Missions

Indonesia Takes Delivery Of First Aircraft Carrier For Disaster Response Missions

Nigerian Airlines Challenge NCAA Delay Data Over Missing Flights And External Factors

Nigerian Airlines Challenge NCAA Delay Data Over Missing Flights And External Factors

Poland Temporarily Closes Two Airports As Russian Drone Strikes Hit Western Ukraine

Poland Temporarily Closes Two Airports As Russian Drone Strikes Hit Western Ukraine

Latest Breaking News & Developments

Latest Breaking News & Developments

Saudi Arabia Approves Air Arabia-Led Consortium For New Dammam-Based Low-Cost Airline

Airlines

Saudi Arabia Approves Air Arabia-Led Consortium For New Dammam-Based Low-Cost Airline

Posted onSeptember 18, 2026September 18, 2026

FAA Allows Boeing To Sell 35 More 777F Freighters Beyond 2028 Emissions Deadline

Air Cargo

FAA Allows Boeing To Sell 35 More 777F Freighters Beyond 2028 Emissions Deadline

Posted onSeptember 18, 2026September 18, 2026

Indonesia Takes Delivery Of First Aircraft Carrier For Disaster Response Missions

Military Aviation

Indonesia Takes Delivery Of First Aircraft Carrier For Disaster Response Missions

Posted onSeptember 18, 2026September 18, 2026

Nigerian Airlines Challenge NCAA Delay Data Over Missing Flights And External Factors

Airlines

Nigerian Airlines Challenge NCAA Delay Data Over Missing Flights And External Factors

Posted onSeptember 18, 2026September 18, 2026

Poland Temporarily Closes Two Airports As Russian Drone Strikes Hit Western Ukraine

Airports

Poland Temporarily Closes Two Airports As Russian Drone Strikes Hit Western Ukraine

Posted onSeptember 17, 2026September 17, 2026

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Aviation Today Perspectives

From Demonstrations to Networks: The Real Test of Advanced Air Mobility - Part 6

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From Demonstrations to Networks: The Real Test of Advanced Air Mobility - Part 6

From Demonstrations to Networks: The Real Test of Advanced Air Mobility – Part 6

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Aircraft Crashes

Airlines

Incidents

Three Killed After Cirrus SR22T Crashes Into Mountain Slope In Switzerland

Three Killed After Cirrus SR22T Crashes Into Mountain Slope In Switzerland

Five Killed After Cessna T206 Crashes In Colombia Returning From Medical Mission

Five Killed After Cessna T206 Crashes In Colombia Returning From Medical Mission

Three Killed, One Hospitalised After NBC4 News Helicopter Crashes In Los Angeles

Three Killed, One Hospitalised After NBC4 News Helicopter Crashes In Los Angeles

Erkelenz, Germany: Three people were killed when a Reims-Cessna F172P Skyhawk II crashed near Gerderath in Germany on 14 September 2026. The aircraft, registered PH-WMA, had departed Hilversum Airport in the Netherlands at about 10:25 local time and crashed on an agricultural field near Erkelenz at around 11:20. German police confirmed that all three people aboard died, with no survivors. The three people aboard were all Dutch nationals. The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs identified them as a 58-year-old man from Amsterdam, a 23-year-old woman from Amsterdam and a 57-year-old man from the municipality of Súdwest-Fryslân. Their names have not been publicly released by the authorities. The crash occurred near Gerderath, a district of Erkelenz in Heinsberg district, North Rhine-Westphalia, south of Mönchengladbach and close to the Dutch border. The aircraft came down on an agricultural field and was completely destroyed. Emergency crews found the wreckage near the edge of the field and trees. Police and firefighters secured the crash site while investigators were brought in to establish what happened. The aircraft was a four-seat Reims-Cessna F172P Skyhawk II, commonly identified as a Cessna 172, with registration PH-WMA. It was associated with Vliegschool Hilversum, a Dutch flight school, rather than an airline. Aircraft information from the school identifies PH-WMA as one of its Cessna 172 aircraft. The aircraft is registered to VSH MAPS B.V. The flight school's aircraft documentation identifies the type as a single-engine piston aircraft powered by a Lycoming O-320 engine, with 160 hp and a maximum take-off weight of 1,089 kg. These specifications are background information and have not been linked to the crash. The aircraft departed Hilversum Airport (EHHV) in the Netherlands at approximately 10:25–10:26 local time. Reports indicate that its planned destination was Freiburg im Breisgau in southern Germany. The aircraft crossed into Germany before the accident near Gerderath, roughly 150 km from Hilversum. However, authorities have not publicly confirmed the specific purpose of this particular flight. Before the crash, the pilot reportedly contacted the German flight-information service because of poor weather, but weather has not been established as the cause of the accident. Witness accounts also indicated that the aircraft appeared to be flying unusually low before the crash, although those observations remain unverified and are not an official finding. Flight-tracking information cited in reports provides a preliminary picture of the aircraft's final flight. After departing Hilversum, the aircraft made significant changes in speed and altitude before continuing towards Germany. Tracking data indicates that it later descended significantly and disappeared from tracking at approximately 11:17, shortly before the crash around 11:20. These tracking details are a reconstruction from available data and should not be treated as the investigators' final sequence of events. German police confirmed the deaths at the scene. A police spokesperson said: “The aircraft was occupied by three people. All three died in the crash.” Police said the exact circumstances and cause of the crash remained unclear as the investigation began. A large emergency response was mounted after the aircraft came down. Police, firefighters and Germany's Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) were involved at the crash site, while a Bundeswehr rescue helicopter also arrived and landed at the location. Emergency personnel secured the wreckage and the surrounding agricultural area before the aviation investigation began. Germany's Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) was brought in to examine the crash. Because the aircraft was Dutch-registered and had departed from the Netherlands, investigators from the Dutch Safety Board (Onderzoeksraad voor Veiligheid) also travelled to Germany at the request of the German authorities. The investigation is intended to establish the aircraft's final flight path, the circumstances before the loss of altitude and the reason for the crash. The aircraft operator, Vliegschool Hilversum, has suspended its flight operations following the accident. The school said it would cooperate fully with the investigation and would provide reliable information when it becomes available. The suspension means the school's aircraft operations will remain halted while investigators work to establish the circumstances of the accident. At this stage, no official cause has been established. Poor weather, the aircraft's altitude changes and witness reports of low flying are among the circumstances being examined, but none should be presented as the confirmed cause. Investigators will need to establish whether the accident resulted from a technical problem, operational circumstances, weather, pilot-related factors or a combination of factors.

Three Killed As Cessna F172P Crashes Near Erkelenz, Germany; Probe Underway

Retired French Air Force General, Midwife Killed In FK12 Comet Crash In Southern France

Retired French Air Force General, Midwife Killed In FK12 Comet Crash In Southern France

Saudi Arabia Approves Air Arabia-Led Consortium For New Dammam-Based Low-Cost Airline

Saudi Arabia Approves Air Arabia-Led Consortium For New Dammam-Based Low-Cost Airline

Lagos, Nigeria: The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority’s August 2026 domestic flight-disruption report has come under challenge from Air Peace, United Nigeria Airlines and ValueJet, with the carriers questioning the regulator’s flight-count data and its failure to distinguish delays caused by airlines from those linked to airports, weather, infrastructure and other external factors. The NCAA, in its report released on 13 September 2026, said 15 domestic airlines operated 7,961 flights in August, of which 4,765 were delayed and 36 cancelled. Air Peace was listed with 1,864 flights and 1,330 delays, giving it a 71.4% delay rate, while United Nigeria recorded 943 delays from 1,231 flights, the highest delay rate at 76.6%. ValueJet recorded 435 delays from 767 flights, or 56.7%. The NCAA said 2,801 delays lasted between 16 minutes and one hour, 1,322 lasted one to two hours, 407 lasted two to three hours and 235 lasted at least three hours. Air Peace accounted for 108 of the longest delays. Air Peace challenged the figures on 17 September 2026 through a statement signed by its Chief Operating Officer, Oluwatoyin Olajide. The airline said it actually operated 2,564 flights in August, rather than the 1,864 recorded by the NCAA, arguing that the omission of more than 700 flights distorted its performance metrics and inflated its reported delay rate. “By omitting over 700 fully operational flights from the data pool, the NCAA’s calculations skew our actual performance metrics and artificially inflate the reported delay percentages,” the airline said. Air Peace also questioned why the NCAA began its monthly disruption series with August instead of July, after publishing its first- and second-quarter disruption reports on 31 July. “Why did the NCAA start the monthly series with August rather than July, immediately following the publication of Q1 and Q2 on 31st of July?” the airline asked. It also questioned the publication of detailed August data only 13 days after the end of the month. Another major issue raised by Air Peace was the absence of an airline-by-airline breakdown of the causes of delays. The NCAA report provided the number and duration of delays but did not publicly attribute individual delays to internal airline factors or external circumstances. Air Peace argued that this presentation could leave the impression that the disruptions were primarily caused by airline operations. The airline said its own review found 391 flights affected by internal factors, mainly technical issues requiring unscheduled maintenance and fuel-related problems. It attributed the remaining disruptions to external factors including airport congestion and traffic, infrastructure deficiencies, adverse weather, bird strikes, aviation-union industrial action and aircraft damage by a ground-handling company. Air Peace said airport congestion and traffic accounted for more than 51% of its externally caused delays. Air Peace also pointed to a bird strike involving aircraft 5N-BYG in Abuja. The airline said the strike damaged the aircraft’s inlet cowl beyond acceptable limits, cost about US$1.8 million to repair and kept the aircraft out of service for more than a week. It said the aircraft normally operated at least eight sectors a day and carried about 1,000 passengers, meaning its removal affected subsequent rotations. The airline further said adverse weather during the rainy season caused safety holds and diversions, creating consequential delays across later flights. It also said aviation-union picketing that began on 11 August, 2026 affected its operations for more than 14 days, causing rescheduling, delays and cancellations. The NCAA had separately acknowledged the industrial action on 11 August, 2026 saying it was affecting passengers and other stakeholders and urging the unions to resolve the dispute. United Nigeria Airlines raised a similar methodological concern during the Aviation Day of the 23rd Akwaaba African Travel Market in Lagos on 15 September, 2026. Its Chief Commercial Officer, Adedayo Olawuyi, said the NCAA figures should distinguish between controllable and uncontrollable delays before carrier performance is assessed. “The first problem we have with that data, personally speaking, is that the data was not presented in a way where we have removed controllable delays and uncontrollable delays,” Olawuyi said. Olawuyi cited airport congestion, inadequate infrastructure, technical problems and weather as causes of disruption. He said aircraft can be ready for departure but remain blocked on ramps or delayed before accessing the runway because several operators are using limited airport capacity. He also described a recent United Nigeria Lagos-Kano flight affected by bad weather. According to Olawuyi, the flight eventually departed Lagos at about 10:30 p.m., but a thunderstorm at Kano disabled runway lighting before landing. The aircraft returned to Lagos and landed at about 1 a.m. “That’s not the fault of the airline,” he said. Olawuyi said many Nigerian airports have limited night-operating capability, meaning an earlier delay can extend beyond operating hours and result in cancellation. He argued that the regulator’s figures should therefore be assessed across the wider aviation system rather than attributed solely to carriers. ValueJet’s Chief Commercial Officer, Trevor Henry, made a similar argument at the same Lagos event. He cited presidential movements, weather, congestion at check-in and security points, crowded boarding lounges, boarding-gate congestion and taxiway and runway congestion as factors affecting schedules. “Delays and cancellations are usually caused by issues like presidential movements, weather, airport congestion at check-in, congestion in the boarding lounge due to security checks, and congestion at the boarding gate,” Henry said. The discussion also produced a proposed operational response from Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2. MMA2 Chief Operating Officer Remi Jibodu said more than 10 airlines can schedule flights around 7 a.m., creating pressure on airport facilities. He proposed better coordination and staggered departure times, including consideration of a slot system to spread peak-hour traffic. The dispute therefore centres on two separate questions: whether the NCAA’s flight-volume figures accurately captured individual airline operations, and whether raw delay totals are sufficient to assess airline performance without identifying the causes of each disruption. The NCAA has not publicly responded in the sources reviewed to Air Peace’s specific claim that 700 flights were omitted from its August total. Its published report remains the regulator’s official August disruption dataset, while the airlines’ alternative figures and causal breakdowns remain claims from the respective carriers pending reconciliation with the NCAA.

Nigerian Airlines Challenge NCAA Delay Data Over Missing Flights And External Factors

Malaysia Reviews Airline Contingency Plans As AirAsia Faces Mounting Financial Pressure

Malaysia Reviews Airline Contingency Plans As AirAsia Faces Mounting Financial Pressure

Korean Air Finalize Record 103 Aircraft Order Covering Four Boeing Jet Models

Korean Air Finalize Record 103 Aircraft Order Covering Four Boeing Jet Models

New York, United States: Latvia’s national airline airBaltic voluntarily filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code in New York on 14 September 2026, seeking to restructure its debt after soaring jet fuel costs and stalled negotiations with creditors pushed the carrier into acute financial stress. The airline said it had secured a commitment for €350 million ($405 million) in financing from Strategic Value Partners, Barclays, Hayfin Capital Management, Morgan Stanley and Oaktree Capital Management to support operations during the restructuring. The financing carries an interest rate of about 12% and remains subject to court approval. AirBaltic said it expects the court-supervised restructuring to be completed by June 2027, while flights will continue as scheduled. The filing comes as the aviation industry faces severe pressure from the Iran war that has doubled jet fuel prices and triggered the sector’s worst crisis since the COVID-19 pandemic. AirBaltic’s board said in a bankruptcy-court filing that the airline was experiencing “acute financial stress due to a combination of financial and geopolitical factors.” AirBaltic had been negotiating with creditors to secure additional financing, but the talks failed to produce an agreement. Before the bankruptcy filing, bondholders were due to vote on a proposal to raise up to €257 million through new super-senior debt due in February 2027, carrying an interest rate of 25%. Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs said bondholders representing more than 70% of the value of the airline’s debt chose liquidation instead of approving the financing required to keep the company going. “I view this solution as one of the best options for ensuring airBaltic’s viability, as it provides the necessary tools and time to implement the restructuring plan,” Kulbergs said. The Latvian government is continuing to search for a strategic investor while airBaltic reduces its fleet and reorganises its financial obligations. AirBaltic’s financial problems had been building before the latest fuel shock. The airline said it had about $583 million in funded debt and finance lease liabilities, while it owed €106 million in payroll taxes, airline taxes and fees. The carrier generated about €779 million in revenue in 2025. Kulbergs said airBaltic had “burned through” €380 million raised through bonds issued in 2024 by April 2026. A €30 million emergency government loan provided to the airline ran out in June. The airline had also attempted to lease out excess aircraft as it sought ways to improve its financial position. AirBaltic had previously planned to expand its fleet to 100 aircraft. However, the company’s growth strategy was hit by the loss of potential transit traffic from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine through Riga, while higher fuel costs made its financial position more difficult to sustain. Aviation analyst Simonas Bartkus said, “This is no longer available, and the company became too large for its market. The rise in fuel costs made the situation acute, they had no time to find a solution.” Kulbergs said, “Serving Baltic and Latvian routes requires only 30 aircraft, not 100.” AirBaltic currently operates about 50 Airbus A220-300 aircraft. As part of the Chapter 11 process, the airline plans to cancel or defer outstanding deliveries from a $3.5 billion order for 40 additional Airbus aircraft. It also plans to address $106.7 million worth of additional aircraft engines ordered from Pratt & Whitney. AirBaltic said it had already begun discussions with Airbus about deferring additional aircraft deliveries beyond 2026. Airbus did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment, while RTX, the parent company of Pratt & Whitney, declined to comment. AirBaltic employs more than 3,000 people and has been expanding its global workforce for about a decade. CEO Erno Hilden said the airline was in talks with labour unions about “an adjustment in the workforce”, which he described as a natural consequence of the carrier’s existing capacity-reduction plans. Hilden said the largest operational changes during the Chapter 11 restructuring would involve reducing airBaltic’s wet-lease business, under which the airline provides aircraft and crews to other carriers for a fee. Despite the financial difficulties, Hilden said he remained confident about the underlying business. “I do think that the underlying business for airBaltic is a very healthy one. So after we really execute on our new business plan, I do see a bright future for the company,” he said. AirBaltic said the Chapter 11 filing is intended to provide protection from creditors while it negotiates a restructuring of its debt. The airline has said its flights will continue to operate as scheduled throughout the court-supervised process. The restructuring is expected to be completed by June 2027. Hilden, who previously led Scandinavian airline SAS through its own Chapter 11 restructuring between 2022 and 2024, said airBaltic is “targeting the same process”. The Latvian government remains the majority owner of airBaltic, while Germany’s Lufthansa holds a 10% minority stake. The government is continuing to seek a strategic investor as the airline restructures its debt, reduces its fleet and adjusts its operations. AirBaltic’s Chapter 11 filing makes it the second airline casualty linked to the economic impact of the Iran war after Spirit Airlines, although Spirit had entered bankruptcy months before the conflict began. The immediate challenge for airBaltic is to stabilize its finances while maintaining its network and operations. The airline now has until the planned completion of the Chapter 11 process in June 2027 to implement its restructuring plan, reduce costs and establish a more sustainable financial structure.

AirBaltic Seeks Chapter 11 Protection In US Amid Rising Fuel Costs And Debt

Sepehran Airlines B737 Returns To Mashhad After Tyre Trouble And Reported Engine Issue

Sepehran Airlines B737 Returns To Mashhad After Tyre Trouble And Reported Engine Issue

Delta Flight DL2311 Makes 27,000-Foot Emergency Descent After Pressurization Issue SEO DES: The aircraft descended from approximately 36,200 feet to 9,000 feet in about 10 minutes before diverting to Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas SOCIAL: Delta Air Lines Flight DL2311 made an emergency descent of approximately 27,000 feet on September 6, 2026, after an unexpected pressurization issue triggered the deployment of passenger oxygen masks. The Boeing 737-900 was flying from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City with 174 passengers and six crew members onboard. The aircraft descended from approximately 36,200 feet to 9,000 feet in about 10 minutes before diverting to Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. The crew confirmed to air traffic control that oxygen masks had deployed, while Delta said its pilots followed established procedures to bring the aircraft to a safe altitude. The aircraft landed safely in Las Vegas at approximately 6:16 p.m. local time, with no injuries reported. Delta arranged for passengers to continue their journey, while the specific technical cause of the pressurization issue has not yet been publicly disclosed. Image: formulanone (Flickr) Video: Delta Air Lines Las Vegas, United States: Delta Air Lines Flight DL2311 made a rapid emergency descent of approximately 27,000 feet after an unexpected pressurization issue triggered the deployment of passenger oxygen masks, forcing the Los Angeles-to-Salt Lake City flight to divert to Las Vegas on September 6, 2026. The Boeing 737-900 operating the flight departed Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) at approximately 4:54 p.m. local time on Sunday, September 6, bound for Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC). The aircraft was carrying 174 passengers and six crew members. About halfway through the scheduled one-hour-and-22-minute journey, the aircraft was flying at approximately 36,200 feet when the pressurization issue occurred. Flight data showed the aircraft descending to 9,000 feet over approximately 10 minutes, a reduction in altitude of around 27,000 feet. Passenger oxygen masks deployed in the cabin during the emergency descent. Air traffic control communications recorded during the incident captured the crew reporting the situation and requesting an immediate descent toward Las Vegas. “Delta 2311 is currently in rapid descent. We'd like to get down to 9,000 and we're direct to Las Vegas,” a pilot said. When an air traffic controller asked, “Is the oxygen deployed?” the pilot responded, “Affirmative.” Delta said the emergency descent followed an unexpected pressurization issue. The airline has not publicly disclosed the specific technical cause behind the pressurization problem. “As safety comes before everything else at Delta, the flight crew of Delta flight 2311 LAX-SLC followed their training and procedures to safely bring the aircraft to optimal altitude when an unexpected pressurization issue occurred,” a Delta spokesperson said. The aircraft diverted to Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas and landed safely at approximately 6:16 p.m. local time. Passengers deplaned normally after landing, and Delta arranged another aircraft for passengers to continue their journey to Salt Lake City. “Delta sincerely apologizes to our customers for their experience and thanks our flight crews and other support teams on the ground for their professionalism,” the spokesperson added. The rapid descent attracted widespread attention because of the significant altitude change within a short period. However, aviation safety procedures require crews dealing with a serious cabin pressurization problem at cruising altitude to descend quickly to an altitude where occupants can breathe safely without relying on supplemental oxygen. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, a lack of adequate oxygen can result in hypoxia, a condition caused by an insufficient supply of oxygen to the body. Matthew “Whiz” Buckley, a retired US A Navy F/A-18 fighter pilot with nearly 40 years of flying experience, told Fox News Digital, describing such a pressurization occurrence as “an extremely rare issue” in the United States. Buckley said that in such circumstances, pilots would need “to land as soon as practical, meaning, what's the closest airfield with a nice, long, suitable runway where we can get this thing on the ground safely.” The specific technical reason for the unexpected pressurization problem has not yet been publicly disclosed. The aircraft landed safely in Las Vegas, with no injuries reported in the information released by Delta.

Delta Flight DL2311 Makes 27,000-Foot Emergency Descent After Pressurization Issue

Delta Flight 1390 Declares Emergency After Cabin Fumes Detected Before Chicago Landing

Delta Flight 1390 Declares Emergency After Cabin Fumes Detected Before Chicago Landing

Qantas Flight Diverts To Christchurch After Engine Flames Seen Shortly After Takeoff

Qantas Flight Diverts To Christchurch After Engine Flames Seen Shortly After Takeoff

Crawley, United Kingdom: A Norse Atlantic Airways Boeing 787-9 rejected its takeoff from London Gatwick Airport on September 4, 2026 after a reported nose-gear problem, leaving the aircraft disabled on the runway and forcing the airport to temporarily halt flight operations. The aircraft, a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner registered G-CKOF, was operating Norse Atlantic flight Z0701 from London Gatwick (LGW) to New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). It was accelerating for departure from Runway 26L when the crew rejected the takeoff at about 120 knots over the ground, according to preliminary aviation incident information. Reports said that the rejected takeoff followed a problem with the aircraft’s nose landing gear and that the nose wheels had turned about 90 degrees. The aircraft then stopped on the runway and became disabled. The precise technical cause of the nose-wheel movement has not been officially declared by the airline. The aircraft remained on Runway 26L while airport emergency teams responded. The incident did not result in any reported injuries among passengers or crew. A passenger onboard, Alice Kavanagh, described the moment the aircraft stopped as frightening, saying the pilot “slammed the brakes on” after a reported technical fault was detected. The Boeing 787 was subsequently removed from the runway. The aircraft blockage had an immediate effect on Gatwick because the airport effectively operates with one runway at a time. Although Gatwick has two runways, their proximity means they cannot normally be used simultaneously for independent operations. As a result, the closure of Runway 26L temporarily stopped both departing and arriving traffic. London Gatwick confirmed that the runway remained closed for 50 minutes because of the incident. “The runway was closed for 50 minutes this afternoon (Friday 4 September) due to a technical issue with a departing aircraft,” a Gatwick spokesperson said. “The aircraft was towed from the runway, which reopened shortly afterwards following a full safety inspection. As always, safety and security is our number one priority.” The runway reopened after airport teams completed the required safety inspection. Subsequent reporting put the reopening at approximately 14:36 BST, although the airport’s official statement characterized it simply as reopening shortly after the aircraft was removed and the inspection was completed. The temporary closure created a wider disruption across Gatwick’s flight schedule. Several inbound flights were diverted to alternative airports, with London Luton and London Stansted among the destinations reported for diverted services. EasyJet flights were also affected by the disruption. Flight-tracking data later showed severe delays affecting more than 330 flights at Gatwick, with an average delay of about 57 minutes. The effects continued after the runway reopened because aircraft, crews and passengers had been displaced during the closure. For the incident, Gatwick has confirmed only that a technical issue involving a departing aircraft caused the runway closure. The more specific information concerning the nose gear and the reported 90-degree movement of the nose wheels remains preliminary. Further maintenance findings or an official investigation would be needed to establish the exact cause of the rejected takeoff.

Norse Atlantic Rejects Takeoff At Gatwick After Reported Nose Gear Issue, Runway Closed

Aircraft Crashes

Three Killed After Cirrus SR22T Crashes Into Mountain Slope In Switzerland

Three Killed After Cirrus SR22T Crashes Into Mountain Slope In Switzerland

Five Killed After Cessna T206 Crashes In Colombia Returning From Medical Mission

Five Killed After Cessna T206 Crashes In Colombia Returning From Medical Mission

Three Killed, One Hospitalised After NBC4 News Helicopter Crashes In Los Angeles

Three Killed, One Hospitalised After NBC4 News Helicopter Crashes In Los Angeles

Erkelenz, Germany: Three people were killed when a Reims-Cessna F172P Skyhawk II crashed near Gerderath in Germany on 14 September 2026. The aircraft, registered PH-WMA, had departed Hilversum Airport in the Netherlands at about 10:25 local time and crashed on an agricultural field near Erkelenz at around 11:20. German police confirmed that all three people aboard died, with no survivors. The three people aboard were all Dutch nationals. The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs identified them as a 58-year-old man from Amsterdam, a 23-year-old woman from Amsterdam and a 57-year-old man from the municipality of Súdwest-Fryslân. Their names have not been publicly released by the authorities. The crash occurred near Gerderath, a district of Erkelenz in Heinsberg district, North Rhine-Westphalia, south of Mönchengladbach and close to the Dutch border. The aircraft came down on an agricultural field and was completely destroyed. Emergency crews found the wreckage near the edge of the field and trees. Police and firefighters secured the crash site while investigators were brought in to establish what happened. The aircraft was a four-seat Reims-Cessna F172P Skyhawk II, commonly identified as a Cessna 172, with registration PH-WMA. It was associated with Vliegschool Hilversum, a Dutch flight school, rather than an airline. Aircraft information from the school identifies PH-WMA as one of its Cessna 172 aircraft. The aircraft is registered to VSH MAPS B.V. The flight school's aircraft documentation identifies the type as a single-engine piston aircraft powered by a Lycoming O-320 engine, with 160 hp and a maximum take-off weight of 1,089 kg. These specifications are background information and have not been linked to the crash. The aircraft departed Hilversum Airport (EHHV) in the Netherlands at approximately 10:25–10:26 local time. Reports indicate that its planned destination was Freiburg im Breisgau in southern Germany. The aircraft crossed into Germany before the accident near Gerderath, roughly 150 km from Hilversum. However, authorities have not publicly confirmed the specific purpose of this particular flight. Before the crash, the pilot reportedly contacted the German flight-information service because of poor weather, but weather has not been established as the cause of the accident. Witness accounts also indicated that the aircraft appeared to be flying unusually low before the crash, although those observations remain unverified and are not an official finding. Flight-tracking information cited in reports provides a preliminary picture of the aircraft's final flight. After departing Hilversum, the aircraft made significant changes in speed and altitude before continuing towards Germany. Tracking data indicates that it later descended significantly and disappeared from tracking at approximately 11:17, shortly before the crash around 11:20. These tracking details are a reconstruction from available data and should not be treated as the investigators' final sequence of events. German police confirmed the deaths at the scene. A police spokesperson said: “The aircraft was occupied by three people. All three died in the crash.” Police said the exact circumstances and cause of the crash remained unclear as the investigation began. A large emergency response was mounted after the aircraft came down. Police, firefighters and Germany's Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) were involved at the crash site, while a Bundeswehr rescue helicopter also arrived and landed at the location. Emergency personnel secured the wreckage and the surrounding agricultural area before the aviation investigation began. Germany's Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) was brought in to examine the crash. Because the aircraft was Dutch-registered and had departed from the Netherlands, investigators from the Dutch Safety Board (Onderzoeksraad voor Veiligheid) also travelled to Germany at the request of the German authorities. The investigation is intended to establish the aircraft's final flight path, the circumstances before the loss of altitude and the reason for the crash. The aircraft operator, Vliegschool Hilversum, has suspended its flight operations following the accident. The school said it would cooperate fully with the investigation and would provide reliable information when it becomes available. The suspension means the school's aircraft operations will remain halted while investigators work to establish the circumstances of the accident. At this stage, no official cause has been established. Poor weather, the aircraft's altitude changes and witness reports of low flying are among the circumstances being examined, but none should be presented as the confirmed cause. Investigators will need to establish whether the accident resulted from a technical problem, operational circumstances, weather, pilot-related factors or a combination of factors.

Three Killed As Cessna F172P Crashes Near Erkelenz, Germany; Probe Underway

Retired French Air Force General, Midwife Killed In FK12 Comet Crash In Southern France

Retired French Air Force General, Midwife Killed In FK12 Comet Crash In Southern France

Airlines

Saudi Arabia Approves Air Arabia-Led Consortium For New Dammam-Based Low-Cost Airline

Saudi Arabia Approves Air Arabia-Led Consortium For New Dammam-Based Low-Cost Airline

Lagos, Nigeria: The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority’s August 2026 domestic flight-disruption report has come under challenge from Air Peace, United Nigeria Airlines and ValueJet, with the carriers questioning the regulator’s flight-count data and its failure to distinguish delays caused by airlines from those linked to airports, weather, infrastructure and other external factors. The NCAA, in its report released on 13 September 2026, said 15 domestic airlines operated 7,961 flights in August, of which 4,765 were delayed and 36 cancelled. Air Peace was listed with 1,864 flights and 1,330 delays, giving it a 71.4% delay rate, while United Nigeria recorded 943 delays from 1,231 flights, the highest delay rate at 76.6%. ValueJet recorded 435 delays from 767 flights, or 56.7%. The NCAA said 2,801 delays lasted between 16 minutes and one hour, 1,322 lasted one to two hours, 407 lasted two to three hours and 235 lasted at least three hours. Air Peace accounted for 108 of the longest delays. Air Peace challenged the figures on 17 September 2026 through a statement signed by its Chief Operating Officer, Oluwatoyin Olajide. The airline said it actually operated 2,564 flights in August, rather than the 1,864 recorded by the NCAA, arguing that the omission of more than 700 flights distorted its performance metrics and inflated its reported delay rate. “By omitting over 700 fully operational flights from the data pool, the NCAA’s calculations skew our actual performance metrics and artificially inflate the reported delay percentages,” the airline said. Air Peace also questioned why the NCAA began its monthly disruption series with August instead of July, after publishing its first- and second-quarter disruption reports on 31 July. “Why did the NCAA start the monthly series with August rather than July, immediately following the publication of Q1 and Q2 on 31st of July?” the airline asked. It also questioned the publication of detailed August data only 13 days after the end of the month. Another major issue raised by Air Peace was the absence of an airline-by-airline breakdown of the causes of delays. The NCAA report provided the number and duration of delays but did not publicly attribute individual delays to internal airline factors or external circumstances. Air Peace argued that this presentation could leave the impression that the disruptions were primarily caused by airline operations. The airline said its own review found 391 flights affected by internal factors, mainly technical issues requiring unscheduled maintenance and fuel-related problems. It attributed the remaining disruptions to external factors including airport congestion and traffic, infrastructure deficiencies, adverse weather, bird strikes, aviation-union industrial action and aircraft damage by a ground-handling company. Air Peace said airport congestion and traffic accounted for more than 51% of its externally caused delays. Air Peace also pointed to a bird strike involving aircraft 5N-BYG in Abuja. The airline said the strike damaged the aircraft’s inlet cowl beyond acceptable limits, cost about US$1.8 million to repair and kept the aircraft out of service for more than a week. It said the aircraft normally operated at least eight sectors a day and carried about 1,000 passengers, meaning its removal affected subsequent rotations. The airline further said adverse weather during the rainy season caused safety holds and diversions, creating consequential delays across later flights. It also said aviation-union picketing that began on 11 August, 2026 affected its operations for more than 14 days, causing rescheduling, delays and cancellations. The NCAA had separately acknowledged the industrial action on 11 August, 2026 saying it was affecting passengers and other stakeholders and urging the unions to resolve the dispute. United Nigeria Airlines raised a similar methodological concern during the Aviation Day of the 23rd Akwaaba African Travel Market in Lagos on 15 September, 2026. Its Chief Commercial Officer, Adedayo Olawuyi, said the NCAA figures should distinguish between controllable and uncontrollable delays before carrier performance is assessed. “The first problem we have with that data, personally speaking, is that the data was not presented in a way where we have removed controllable delays and uncontrollable delays,” Olawuyi said. Olawuyi cited airport congestion, inadequate infrastructure, technical problems and weather as causes of disruption. He said aircraft can be ready for departure but remain blocked on ramps or delayed before accessing the runway because several operators are using limited airport capacity. He also described a recent United Nigeria Lagos-Kano flight affected by bad weather. According to Olawuyi, the flight eventually departed Lagos at about 10:30 p.m., but a thunderstorm at Kano disabled runway lighting before landing. The aircraft returned to Lagos and landed at about 1 a.m. “That’s not the fault of the airline,” he said. Olawuyi said many Nigerian airports have limited night-operating capability, meaning an earlier delay can extend beyond operating hours and result in cancellation. He argued that the regulator’s figures should therefore be assessed across the wider aviation system rather than attributed solely to carriers. ValueJet’s Chief Commercial Officer, Trevor Henry, made a similar argument at the same Lagos event. He cited presidential movements, weather, congestion at check-in and security points, crowded boarding lounges, boarding-gate congestion and taxiway and runway congestion as factors affecting schedules. “Delays and cancellations are usually caused by issues like presidential movements, weather, airport congestion at check-in, congestion in the boarding lounge due to security checks, and congestion at the boarding gate,” Henry said. The discussion also produced a proposed operational response from Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2. MMA2 Chief Operating Officer Remi Jibodu said more than 10 airlines can schedule flights around 7 a.m., creating pressure on airport facilities. He proposed better coordination and staggered departure times, including consideration of a slot system to spread peak-hour traffic. The dispute therefore centres on two separate questions: whether the NCAA’s flight-volume figures accurately captured individual airline operations, and whether raw delay totals are sufficient to assess airline performance without identifying the causes of each disruption. The NCAA has not publicly responded in the sources reviewed to Air Peace’s specific claim that 700 flights were omitted from its August total. Its published report remains the regulator’s official August disruption dataset, while the airlines’ alternative figures and causal breakdowns remain claims from the respective carriers pending reconciliation with the NCAA.

Nigerian Airlines Challenge NCAA Delay Data Over Missing Flights And External Factors

Malaysia Reviews Airline Contingency Plans As AirAsia Faces Mounting Financial Pressure

Malaysia Reviews Airline Contingency Plans As AirAsia Faces Mounting Financial Pressure

Korean Air Finalize Record 103 Aircraft Order Covering Four Boeing Jet Models

Korean Air Finalize Record 103 Aircraft Order Covering Four Boeing Jet Models

New York, United States: Latvia’s national airline airBaltic voluntarily filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code in New York on 14 September 2026, seeking to restructure its debt after soaring jet fuel costs and stalled negotiations with creditors pushed the carrier into acute financial stress. The airline said it had secured a commitment for €350 million ($405 million) in financing from Strategic Value Partners, Barclays, Hayfin Capital Management, Morgan Stanley and Oaktree Capital Management to support operations during the restructuring. The financing carries an interest rate of about 12% and remains subject to court approval. AirBaltic said it expects the court-supervised restructuring to be completed by June 2027, while flights will continue as scheduled. The filing comes as the aviation industry faces severe pressure from the Iran war that has doubled jet fuel prices and triggered the sector’s worst crisis since the COVID-19 pandemic. AirBaltic’s board said in a bankruptcy-court filing that the airline was experiencing “acute financial stress due to a combination of financial and geopolitical factors.” AirBaltic had been negotiating with creditors to secure additional financing, but the talks failed to produce an agreement. Before the bankruptcy filing, bondholders were due to vote on a proposal to raise up to €257 million through new super-senior debt due in February 2027, carrying an interest rate of 25%. Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs said bondholders representing more than 70% of the value of the airline’s debt chose liquidation instead of approving the financing required to keep the company going. “I view this solution as one of the best options for ensuring airBaltic’s viability, as it provides the necessary tools and time to implement the restructuring plan,” Kulbergs said. The Latvian government is continuing to search for a strategic investor while airBaltic reduces its fleet and reorganises its financial obligations. AirBaltic’s financial problems had been building before the latest fuel shock. The airline said it had about $583 million in funded debt and finance lease liabilities, while it owed €106 million in payroll taxes, airline taxes and fees. The carrier generated about €779 million in revenue in 2025. Kulbergs said airBaltic had “burned through” €380 million raised through bonds issued in 2024 by April 2026. A €30 million emergency government loan provided to the airline ran out in June. The airline had also attempted to lease out excess aircraft as it sought ways to improve its financial position. AirBaltic had previously planned to expand its fleet to 100 aircraft. However, the company’s growth strategy was hit by the loss of potential transit traffic from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine through Riga, while higher fuel costs made its financial position more difficult to sustain. Aviation analyst Simonas Bartkus said, “This is no longer available, and the company became too large for its market. The rise in fuel costs made the situation acute, they had no time to find a solution.” Kulbergs said, “Serving Baltic and Latvian routes requires only 30 aircraft, not 100.” AirBaltic currently operates about 50 Airbus A220-300 aircraft. As part of the Chapter 11 process, the airline plans to cancel or defer outstanding deliveries from a $3.5 billion order for 40 additional Airbus aircraft. It also plans to address $106.7 million worth of additional aircraft engines ordered from Pratt & Whitney. AirBaltic said it had already begun discussions with Airbus about deferring additional aircraft deliveries beyond 2026. Airbus did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment, while RTX, the parent company of Pratt & Whitney, declined to comment. AirBaltic employs more than 3,000 people and has been expanding its global workforce for about a decade. CEO Erno Hilden said the airline was in talks with labour unions about “an adjustment in the workforce”, which he described as a natural consequence of the carrier’s existing capacity-reduction plans. Hilden said the largest operational changes during the Chapter 11 restructuring would involve reducing airBaltic’s wet-lease business, under which the airline provides aircraft and crews to other carriers for a fee. Despite the financial difficulties, Hilden said he remained confident about the underlying business. “I do think that the underlying business for airBaltic is a very healthy one. So after we really execute on our new business plan, I do see a bright future for the company,” he said. AirBaltic said the Chapter 11 filing is intended to provide protection from creditors while it negotiates a restructuring of its debt. The airline has said its flights will continue to operate as scheduled throughout the court-supervised process. The restructuring is expected to be completed by June 2027. Hilden, who previously led Scandinavian airline SAS through its own Chapter 11 restructuring between 2022 and 2024, said airBaltic is “targeting the same process”. The Latvian government remains the majority owner of airBaltic, while Germany’s Lufthansa holds a 10% minority stake. The government is continuing to seek a strategic investor as the airline restructures its debt, reduces its fleet and adjusts its operations. AirBaltic’s Chapter 11 filing makes it the second airline casualty linked to the economic impact of the Iran war after Spirit Airlines, although Spirit had entered bankruptcy months before the conflict began. The immediate challenge for airBaltic is to stabilize its finances while maintaining its network and operations. The airline now has until the planned completion of the Chapter 11 process in June 2027 to implement its restructuring plan, reduce costs and establish a more sustainable financial structure.

AirBaltic Seeks Chapter 11 Protection In US Amid Rising Fuel Costs And Debt

Incidents

Sepehran Airlines B737 Returns To Mashhad After Tyre Trouble And Reported Engine Issue

Sepehran Airlines B737 Returns To Mashhad After Tyre Trouble And Reported Engine Issue

Delta Flight DL2311 Makes 27,000-Foot Emergency Descent After Pressurization Issue SEO DES: The aircraft descended from approximately 36,200 feet to 9,000 feet in about 10 minutes before diverting to Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas SOCIAL: Delta Air Lines Flight DL2311 made an emergency descent of approximately 27,000 feet on September 6, 2026, after an unexpected pressurization issue triggered the deployment of passenger oxygen masks. The Boeing 737-900 was flying from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City with 174 passengers and six crew members onboard. The aircraft descended from approximately 36,200 feet to 9,000 feet in about 10 minutes before diverting to Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. The crew confirmed to air traffic control that oxygen masks had deployed, while Delta said its pilots followed established procedures to bring the aircraft to a safe altitude. The aircraft landed safely in Las Vegas at approximately 6:16 p.m. local time, with no injuries reported. Delta arranged for passengers to continue their journey, while the specific technical cause of the pressurization issue has not yet been publicly disclosed. Image: formulanone (Flickr) Video: Delta Air Lines Las Vegas, United States: Delta Air Lines Flight DL2311 made a rapid emergency descent of approximately 27,000 feet after an unexpected pressurization issue triggered the deployment of passenger oxygen masks, forcing the Los Angeles-to-Salt Lake City flight to divert to Las Vegas on September 6, 2026. The Boeing 737-900 operating the flight departed Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) at approximately 4:54 p.m. local time on Sunday, September 6, bound for Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC). The aircraft was carrying 174 passengers and six crew members. About halfway through the scheduled one-hour-and-22-minute journey, the aircraft was flying at approximately 36,200 feet when the pressurization issue occurred. Flight data showed the aircraft descending to 9,000 feet over approximately 10 minutes, a reduction in altitude of around 27,000 feet. Passenger oxygen masks deployed in the cabin during the emergency descent. Air traffic control communications recorded during the incident captured the crew reporting the situation and requesting an immediate descent toward Las Vegas. “Delta 2311 is currently in rapid descent. We'd like to get down to 9,000 and we're direct to Las Vegas,” a pilot said. When an air traffic controller asked, “Is the oxygen deployed?” the pilot responded, “Affirmative.” Delta said the emergency descent followed an unexpected pressurization issue. The airline has not publicly disclosed the specific technical cause behind the pressurization problem. “As safety comes before everything else at Delta, the flight crew of Delta flight 2311 LAX-SLC followed their training and procedures to safely bring the aircraft to optimal altitude when an unexpected pressurization issue occurred,” a Delta spokesperson said. The aircraft diverted to Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas and landed safely at approximately 6:16 p.m. local time. Passengers deplaned normally after landing, and Delta arranged another aircraft for passengers to continue their journey to Salt Lake City. “Delta sincerely apologizes to our customers for their experience and thanks our flight crews and other support teams on the ground for their professionalism,” the spokesperson added. The rapid descent attracted widespread attention because of the significant altitude change within a short period. However, aviation safety procedures require crews dealing with a serious cabin pressurization problem at cruising altitude to descend quickly to an altitude where occupants can breathe safely without relying on supplemental oxygen. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, a lack of adequate oxygen can result in hypoxia, a condition caused by an insufficient supply of oxygen to the body. Matthew “Whiz” Buckley, a retired US A Navy F/A-18 fighter pilot with nearly 40 years of flying experience, told Fox News Digital, describing such a pressurization occurrence as “an extremely rare issue” in the United States. Buckley said that in such circumstances, pilots would need “to land as soon as practical, meaning, what's the closest airfield with a nice, long, suitable runway where we can get this thing on the ground safely.” The specific technical reason for the unexpected pressurization problem has not yet been publicly disclosed. The aircraft landed safely in Las Vegas, with no injuries reported in the information released by Delta.

Delta Flight DL2311 Makes 27,000-Foot Emergency Descent After Pressurization Issue

Delta Flight 1390 Declares Emergency After Cabin Fumes Detected Before Chicago Landing

Delta Flight 1390 Declares Emergency After Cabin Fumes Detected Before Chicago Landing

Qantas Flight Diverts To Christchurch After Engine Flames Seen Shortly After Takeoff

Qantas Flight Diverts To Christchurch After Engine Flames Seen Shortly After Takeoff

Crawley, United Kingdom: A Norse Atlantic Airways Boeing 787-9 rejected its takeoff from London Gatwick Airport on September 4, 2026 after a reported nose-gear problem, leaving the aircraft disabled on the runway and forcing the airport to temporarily halt flight operations. The aircraft, a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner registered G-CKOF, was operating Norse Atlantic flight Z0701 from London Gatwick (LGW) to New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). It was accelerating for departure from Runway 26L when the crew rejected the takeoff at about 120 knots over the ground, according to preliminary aviation incident information. Reports said that the rejected takeoff followed a problem with the aircraft’s nose landing gear and that the nose wheels had turned about 90 degrees. The aircraft then stopped on the runway and became disabled. The precise technical cause of the nose-wheel movement has not been officially declared by the airline. The aircraft remained on Runway 26L while airport emergency teams responded. The incident did not result in any reported injuries among passengers or crew. A passenger onboard, Alice Kavanagh, described the moment the aircraft stopped as frightening, saying the pilot “slammed the brakes on” after a reported technical fault was detected. The Boeing 787 was subsequently removed from the runway. The aircraft blockage had an immediate effect on Gatwick because the airport effectively operates with one runway at a time. Although Gatwick has two runways, their proximity means they cannot normally be used simultaneously for independent operations. As a result, the closure of Runway 26L temporarily stopped both departing and arriving traffic. London Gatwick confirmed that the runway remained closed for 50 minutes because of the incident. “The runway was closed for 50 minutes this afternoon (Friday 4 September) due to a technical issue with a departing aircraft,” a Gatwick spokesperson said. “The aircraft was towed from the runway, which reopened shortly afterwards following a full safety inspection. As always, safety and security is our number one priority.” The runway reopened after airport teams completed the required safety inspection. Subsequent reporting put the reopening at approximately 14:36 BST, although the airport’s official statement characterized it simply as reopening shortly after the aircraft was removed and the inspection was completed. The temporary closure created a wider disruption across Gatwick’s flight schedule. Several inbound flights were diverted to alternative airports, with London Luton and London Stansted among the destinations reported for diverted services. EasyJet flights were also affected by the disruption. Flight-tracking data later showed severe delays affecting more than 330 flights at Gatwick, with an average delay of about 57 minutes. The effects continued after the runway reopened because aircraft, crews and passengers had been displaced during the closure. For the incident, Gatwick has confirmed only that a technical issue involving a departing aircraft caused the runway closure. The more specific information concerning the nose gear and the reported 90-degree movement of the nose wheels remains preliminary. Further maintenance findings or an official investigation would be needed to establish the exact cause of the rejected takeoff.

Norse Atlantic Rejects Takeoff At Gatwick After Reported Nose Gear Issue, Runway Closed

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Lagos, Nigeria: The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority’s August 2026 domestic flight-disruption report has come under challenge from Air Peace, United Nigeria Airlines and ValueJet, with the carriers questioning the regulator’s flight-count data and its failure to distinguish delays caused by airlines from those linked to airports, weather, infrastructure and other external factors. The NCAA, in its report released on 13 September 2026, said 15 domestic airlines operated 7,961 flights in August, of which 4,765 were delayed and 36 cancelled. Air Peace was listed with 1,864 flights and 1,330 delays, giving it a 71.4% delay rate, while United Nigeria recorded 943 delays from 1,231 flights, the highest delay rate at 76.6%. ValueJet recorded 435 delays from 767 flights, or 56.7%. The NCAA said 2,801 delays lasted between 16 minutes and one hour, 1,322 lasted one to two hours, 407 lasted two to three hours and 235 lasted at least three hours. Air Peace accounted for 108 of the longest delays. Air Peace challenged the figures on 17 September 2026 through a statement signed by its Chief Operating Officer, Oluwatoyin Olajide. The airline said it actually operated 2,564 flights in August, rather than the 1,864 recorded by the NCAA, arguing that the omission of more than 700 flights distorted its performance metrics and inflated its reported delay rate. “By omitting over 700 fully operational flights from the data pool, the NCAA’s calculations skew our actual performance metrics and artificially inflate the reported delay percentages,” the airline said. Air Peace also questioned why the NCAA began its monthly disruption series with August instead of July, after publishing its first- and second-quarter disruption reports on 31 July. “Why did the NCAA start the monthly series with August rather than July, immediately following the publication of Q1 and Q2 on 31st of July?” the airline asked. It also questioned the publication of detailed August data only 13 days after the end of the month. Another major issue raised by Air Peace was the absence of an airline-by-airline breakdown of the causes of delays. The NCAA report provided the number and duration of delays but did not publicly attribute individual delays to internal airline factors or external circumstances. Air Peace argued that this presentation could leave the impression that the disruptions were primarily caused by airline operations. The airline said its own review found 391 flights affected by internal factors, mainly technical issues requiring unscheduled maintenance and fuel-related problems. It attributed the remaining disruptions to external factors including airport congestion and traffic, infrastructure deficiencies, adverse weather, bird strikes, aviation-union industrial action and aircraft damage by a ground-handling company. Air Peace said airport congestion and traffic accounted for more than 51% of its externally caused delays. Air Peace also pointed to a bird strike involving aircraft 5N-BYG in Abuja. The airline said the strike damaged the aircraft’s inlet cowl beyond acceptable limits, cost about US$1.8 million to repair and kept the aircraft out of service for more than a week. It said the aircraft normally operated at least eight sectors a day and carried about 1,000 passengers, meaning its removal affected subsequent rotations. The airline further said adverse weather during the rainy season caused safety holds and diversions, creating consequential delays across later flights. It also said aviation-union picketing that began on 11 August, 2026 affected its operations for more than 14 days, causing rescheduling, delays and cancellations. The NCAA had separately acknowledged the industrial action on 11 August, 2026 saying it was affecting passengers and other stakeholders and urging the unions to resolve the dispute. United Nigeria Airlines raised a similar methodological concern during the Aviation Day of the 23rd Akwaaba African Travel Market in Lagos on 15 September, 2026. Its Chief Commercial Officer, Adedayo Olawuyi, said the NCAA figures should distinguish between controllable and uncontrollable delays before carrier performance is assessed. “The first problem we have with that data, personally speaking, is that the data was not presented in a way where we have removed controllable delays and uncontrollable delays,” Olawuyi said. Olawuyi cited airport congestion, inadequate infrastructure, technical problems and weather as causes of disruption. He said aircraft can be ready for departure but remain blocked on ramps or delayed before accessing the runway because several operators are using limited airport capacity. He also described a recent United Nigeria Lagos-Kano flight affected by bad weather. According to Olawuyi, the flight eventually departed Lagos at about 10:30 p.m., but a thunderstorm at Kano disabled runway lighting before landing. The aircraft returned to Lagos and landed at about 1 a.m. “That’s not the fault of the airline,” he said. Olawuyi said many Nigerian airports have limited night-operating capability, meaning an earlier delay can extend beyond operating hours and result in cancellation. He argued that the regulator’s figures should therefore be assessed across the wider aviation system rather than attributed solely to carriers. ValueJet’s Chief Commercial Officer, Trevor Henry, made a similar argument at the same Lagos event. He cited presidential movements, weather, congestion at check-in and security points, crowded boarding lounges, boarding-gate congestion and taxiway and runway congestion as factors affecting schedules. “Delays and cancellations are usually caused by issues like presidential movements, weather, airport congestion at check-in, congestion in the boarding lounge due to security checks, and congestion at the boarding gate,” Henry said. The discussion also produced a proposed operational response from Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2. MMA2 Chief Operating Officer Remi Jibodu said more than 10 airlines can schedule flights around 7 a.m., creating pressure on airport facilities. He proposed better coordination and staggered departure times, including consideration of a slot system to spread peak-hour traffic. The dispute therefore centres on two separate questions: whether the NCAA’s flight-volume figures accurately captured individual airline operations, and whether raw delay totals are sufficient to assess airline performance without identifying the causes of each disruption. The NCAA has not publicly responded in the sources reviewed to Air Peace’s specific claim that 700 flights were omitted from its August total. Its published report remains the regulator’s official August disruption dataset, while the airlines’ alternative figures and causal breakdowns remain claims from the respective carriers pending reconciliation with the NCAA.

Nigerian Airlines Challenge NCAA Delay Data Over Missing Flights And External Factors

September 18, 2026

Lagos, Nigeria: The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority’s August 2026 domestic flight-disruption report has come under challenge from Air Peace, United

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Lagos, Nigeria: The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority’s August 2026 domestic flight-disruption report has come under challenge from Air Peace, United Nigeria Airlines and ValueJet, with the carriers questioning the regulator’s flight-count data and its failure to distinguish delays caused by airlines from those linked to airports, weather, infrastructure and other external factors. The NCAA, in its report released on 13 September 2026, said 15 domestic airlines operated 7,961 flights in August, of which 4,765 were delayed and 36 cancelled. Air Peace was listed with 1,864 flights and 1,330 delays, giving it a 71.4% delay rate, while United Nigeria recorded 943 delays from 1,231 flights, the highest delay rate at 76.6%. ValueJet recorded 435 delays from 767 flights, or 56.7%. The NCAA said 2,801 delays lasted between 16 minutes and one hour, 1,322 lasted one to two hours, 407 lasted two to three hours and 235 lasted at least three hours. Air Peace accounted for 108 of the longest delays. Air Peace challenged the figures on 17 September 2026 through a statement signed by its Chief Operating Officer, Oluwatoyin Olajide. The airline said it actually operated 2,564 flights in August, rather than the 1,864 recorded by the NCAA, arguing that the omission of more than 700 flights distorted its performance metrics and inflated its reported delay rate. “By omitting over 700 fully operational flights from the data pool, the NCAA’s calculations skew our actual performance metrics and artificially inflate the reported delay percentages,” the airline said. Air Peace also questioned why the NCAA began its monthly disruption series with August instead of July, after publishing its first- and second-quarter disruption reports on 31 July. “Why did the NCAA start the monthly series with August rather than July, immediately following the publication of Q1 and Q2 on 31st of July?” the airline asked. It also questioned the publication of detailed August data only 13 days after the end of the month. Another major issue raised by Air Peace was the absence of an airline-by-airline breakdown of the causes of delays. The NCAA report provided the number and duration of delays but did not publicly attribute individual delays to internal airline factors or external circumstances. Air Peace argued that this presentation could leave the impression that the disruptions were primarily caused by airline operations. The airline said its own review found 391 flights affected by internal factors, mainly technical issues requiring unscheduled maintenance and fuel-related problems. It attributed the remaining disruptions to external factors including airport congestion and traffic, infrastructure deficiencies, adverse weather, bird strikes, aviation-union industrial action and aircraft damage by a ground-handling company. Air Peace said airport congestion and traffic accounted for more than 51% of its externally caused delays. Air Peace also pointed to a bird strike involving aircraft 5N-BYG in Abuja. The airline said the strike damaged the aircraft’s inlet cowl beyond acceptable limits, cost about US$1.8 million to repair and kept the aircraft out of service for more than a week. It said the aircraft normally operated at least eight sectors a day and carried about 1,000 passengers, meaning its removal affected subsequent rotations. The airline further said adverse weather during the rainy season caused safety holds and diversions, creating consequential delays across later flights. It also said aviation-union picketing that began on 11 August, 2026 affected its operations for more than 14 days, causing rescheduling, delays and cancellations. The NCAA had separately acknowledged the industrial action on 11 August, 2026 saying it was affecting passengers and other stakeholders and urging the unions to resolve the dispute. United Nigeria Airlines raised a similar methodological concern during the Aviation Day of the 23rd Akwaaba African Travel Market in Lagos on 15 September, 2026. Its Chief Commercial Officer, Adedayo Olawuyi, said the NCAA figures should distinguish between controllable and uncontrollable delays before carrier performance is assessed. “The first problem we have with that data, personally speaking, is that the data was not presented in a way where we have removed controllable delays and uncontrollable delays,” Olawuyi said. Olawuyi cited airport congestion, inadequate infrastructure, technical problems and weather as causes of disruption. He said aircraft can be ready for departure but remain blocked on ramps or delayed before accessing the runway because several operators are using limited airport capacity. He also described a recent United Nigeria Lagos-Kano flight affected by bad weather. According to Olawuyi, the flight eventually departed Lagos at about 10:30 p.m., but a thunderstorm at Kano disabled runway lighting before landing. The aircraft returned to Lagos and landed at about 1 a.m. “That’s not the fault of the airline,” he said. Olawuyi said many Nigerian airports have limited night-operating capability, meaning an earlier delay can extend beyond operating hours and result in cancellation. He argued that the regulator’s figures should therefore be assessed across the wider aviation system rather than attributed solely to carriers. ValueJet’s Chief Commercial Officer, Trevor Henry, made a similar argument at the same Lagos event. He cited presidential movements, weather, congestion at check-in and security points, crowded boarding lounges, boarding-gate congestion and taxiway and runway congestion as factors affecting schedules. “Delays and cancellations are usually caused by issues like presidential movements, weather, airport congestion at check-in, congestion in the boarding lounge due to security checks, and congestion at the boarding gate,” Henry said. The discussion also produced a proposed operational response from Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2. MMA2 Chief Operating Officer Remi Jibodu said more than 10 airlines can schedule flights around 7 a.m., creating pressure on airport facilities. He proposed better coordination and staggered departure times, including consideration of a slot system to spread peak-hour traffic. The dispute therefore centres on two separate questions: whether the NCAA’s flight-volume figures accurately captured individual airline operations, and whether raw delay totals are sufficient to assess airline performance without identifying the causes of each disruption. The NCAA has not publicly responded in the sources reviewed to Air Peace’s specific claim that 700 flights were omitted from its August total. Its published report remains the regulator’s official August disruption dataset, while the airlines’ alternative figures and causal breakdowns remain claims from the respective carriers pending reconciliation with the NCAA.

Nigerian Airlines Challenge NCAA Delay Data Over Missing Flights And External Factors

September 18, 2026

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Montreal, Canada: The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has sounded a strong warning on global air safety, highlighting rising accident rates as flight activity reaches record levels. In its latest State of Global Aviation Safety report released this month, the UN aviation agency revealed that 2024 saw 95 accidents involving scheduled commercial flights, compared with 66 the previous year. Of these, 10 were fatal, resulting in 296 deaths, an alarming jump from 72 in 2023. The global accident rate also rose to 2.56 per million departures, up from 1.87 the previous year. While ICAO stressed that aviation remains the safest form of travel, the organization called for urgent international action to address mounting risks as passenger demand continues to grow worldwide. ICAO’s data show that the most significant accident categories included controlled flight into terrain, loss of control in flight, mid-air collisions, and runway incursions. These accounted for 25 percent of total fatalities and 40 percent of fatal accidents in 2024. Turbulence has also emerged as a key concern, responsible for nearly three-quarters of serious injuries recorded last year. The Asia-Pacific and Europe/North Atlantic regions each reported three fatal accidents, while a single catastrophic crash in South America caused 62 deaths. Overall, Asia-Pacific recorded the highest number of fatalities, followed by South America, then Europe and the North Atlantic. Alongside accident data, ICAO flagged growing risks from Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) disruptions, such as jamming and spoofing, which threaten the reliability of modern navigation. The organization is updating guidance and working with member states to protect GNSS integrity, while also strengthening runway safety initiatives, turbulence monitoring, and wildlife strike reporting. ICAO is further developing frameworks for civil-military cooperation to manage risks linked to conflict zones and restricted airspace, and it is preparing safety systems for the integration of unmanned aircraft and advanced air mobility vehicles into shared skies. ICAO leaders underscored that the rise in accidents is a wake-up call for regulators, airlines, and governments worldwide. Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar noted that the long-term safety trend remains positive but emphasized that “aviation remains the safest form of transport” only if proactive measures are sustained.

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Sydney, Australia: Sydney Airport faced another round of flight cancellations and significant delays on Friday, September 11, 2026 after a shortage of available air traffic controllers forced Airservices Australia to impose temporary air traffic-flow restrictions. Airservices said the measures were introduced “to safely manage aviation demand” after unexpected staff absences left the Sydney control tower without enough operational controllers. Around 14 inbound flights were cancelled, while delays exceeded one hour in the morning. The restrictions were lifted at 8:15 a.m. local time, with some minor delays continuing. Airservices Deputy Chief Executive Peter Curran told a Senate committee that the immediate disruption followed unplanned overnight absenteeism. “Last night, at relatively short notice, we had some unplanned absenteeism, which we weren't able to recover from,” Curran said. “We're down in the tower this morning and that led to some significant delays.” Sydney currently has 49 employed air traffic controllers, but 41 are required to be operational, while eight were unavailable because of longer-term absences, leaving little capacity to absorb unexpected sickness or other staff shortages. The latest disruption follows similar problems in recent weeks. Airservices acknowledged “roster constraints” when Sydney experienced major delays in August, including a day when more than 150 flights were affected. On September 10, 2026 Qantas and Virgin Australia each reported six Sydney cancellations, with dozens of other flights delayed. Airservices said it was “enhancing our training pipeline to add further controllers to improve roster depth” and was working to address rostering problems that reduce workforce flexibility. The staffing problem is not new. Airservices CEO Rob Sharp previously said the shortage developed during the COVID-19 pandemic after the organisation offered early-retirement arrangements to controllers nearing retirement. Sharp said the organisation subsequently found itself short of experienced personnel. He has also stressed that training replacements take considerable time; Airservices has been recruiting aggressively, with additional controllers moving through training and a new Sydney Tower simulator installed to increase training capacity. The issue has also become a safety concern. The ATSB is investigating a series of Sydney Airport occurrences dating back to July 27, 2026 when a Qantas Boeing 737 was cleared to cross runway 34L while a QantasLink Dash 8 was landing. ATC detected the conflict and stopped the Boeing before it entered the runway. The ATSB classified that occurrence as a serious incident. Further incidents followed in August. On August 9, 2026 a Virgin Australia Boeing 737 beginning its take-off roll on runway 34L encountered a Qantas Boeing 737 crossing the runway; the Virgin crew rejected the take-off. The ATSB is investigating the occurrence as a runway incursion. The same day, a Jetstar Airbus A320 came into close proximity with a Qatar Airways Boeing 777 being towed, forcing both aircraft to stop; a Jetstar cabin crew member was injured. The ATSB is also investigating a 16 August taxiing conflict involving Virgin Australia and Qantas Boeing 737s, an 18 August conflict involving Qantas Airbus A321 and Boeing 737 aircraft, and a 25 August incident in which incomplete traffic information was passed to a Jetstar A320 before pushback. In the latter two cases, the ATSB said safety defences remained effective and classified the events as incidents rather than serious incidents. Airservices has said safety is not being compromised by the staffing shortage, with traffic-flow restrictions being used to reduce aircraft movements when staffing levels cannot support normal capacity. Earlier, Sharp said, “We put in place measures that reduce the traffic levels to ensure safety, but this can lead to flight delays.” The scale of the staffing problem was highlighted before the Senate committee on September 11, 2026. Airservices said Australian airports recorded 2,536 cancellations in the year to August 31, 2026 of which 121 were attributed to Airservices, including 103 at Sydney. That equates to roughly one Airservices-attributable cancellation every three days nationally. Airservices is now seeking to increase controller numbers, strengthen standby coverage and improve rosters. The organisation has also been using controllers from other facilities to help cover Sydney, while the government and aviation industry face pressure to resolve the shortage before further growth in Sydney-area aviation places additional demand on the system. The ATSB investigations into the safety incidents remain ongoing, and no final finding has established that staffing shortages caused any of the individual occurrences.

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Lagos, Nigeria: The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority’s August 2026 domestic flight-disruption report has come under challenge from Air Peace, United Nigeria Airlines and ValueJet, with the carriers questioning the regulator’s flight-count data and its failure to distinguish delays caused by airlines from those linked to airports, weather, infrastructure and other external factors. The NCAA, in its report released on 13 September 2026, said 15 domestic airlines operated 7,961 flights in August, of which 4,765 were delayed and 36 cancelled. Air Peace was listed with 1,864 flights and 1,330 delays, giving it a 71.4% delay rate, while United Nigeria recorded 943 delays from 1,231 flights, the highest delay rate at 76.6%. ValueJet recorded 435 delays from 767 flights, or 56.7%. The NCAA said 2,801 delays lasted between 16 minutes and one hour, 1,322 lasted one to two hours, 407 lasted two to three hours and 235 lasted at least three hours. Air Peace accounted for 108 of the longest delays. Air Peace challenged the figures on 17 September 2026 through a statement signed by its Chief Operating Officer, Oluwatoyin Olajide. The airline said it actually operated 2,564 flights in August, rather than the 1,864 recorded by the NCAA, arguing that the omission of more than 700 flights distorted its performance metrics and inflated its reported delay rate. “By omitting over 700 fully operational flights from the data pool, the NCAA’s calculations skew our actual performance metrics and artificially inflate the reported delay percentages,” the airline said. Air Peace also questioned why the NCAA began its monthly disruption series with August instead of July, after publishing its first- and second-quarter disruption reports on 31 July. “Why did the NCAA start the monthly series with August rather than July, immediately following the publication of Q1 and Q2 on 31st of July?” the airline asked. It also questioned the publication of detailed August data only 13 days after the end of the month. Another major issue raised by Air Peace was the absence of an airline-by-airline breakdown of the causes of delays. The NCAA report provided the number and duration of delays but did not publicly attribute individual delays to internal airline factors or external circumstances. Air Peace argued that this presentation could leave the impression that the disruptions were primarily caused by airline operations. The airline said its own review found 391 flights affected by internal factors, mainly technical issues requiring unscheduled maintenance and fuel-related problems. It attributed the remaining disruptions to external factors including airport congestion and traffic, infrastructure deficiencies, adverse weather, bird strikes, aviation-union industrial action and aircraft damage by a ground-handling company. Air Peace said airport congestion and traffic accounted for more than 51% of its externally caused delays. Air Peace also pointed to a bird strike involving aircraft 5N-BYG in Abuja. The airline said the strike damaged the aircraft’s inlet cowl beyond acceptable limits, cost about US$1.8 million to repair and kept the aircraft out of service for more than a week. It said the aircraft normally operated at least eight sectors a day and carried about 1,000 passengers, meaning its removal affected subsequent rotations. The airline further said adverse weather during the rainy season caused safety holds and diversions, creating consequential delays across later flights. It also said aviation-union picketing that began on 11 August, 2026 affected its operations for more than 14 days, causing rescheduling, delays and cancellations. The NCAA had separately acknowledged the industrial action on 11 August, 2026 saying it was affecting passengers and other stakeholders and urging the unions to resolve the dispute. United Nigeria Airlines raised a similar methodological concern during the Aviation Day of the 23rd Akwaaba African Travel Market in Lagos on 15 September, 2026. Its Chief Commercial Officer, Adedayo Olawuyi, said the NCAA figures should distinguish between controllable and uncontrollable delays before carrier performance is assessed. “The first problem we have with that data, personally speaking, is that the data was not presented in a way where we have removed controllable delays and uncontrollable delays,” Olawuyi said. Olawuyi cited airport congestion, inadequate infrastructure, technical problems and weather as causes of disruption. He said aircraft can be ready for departure but remain blocked on ramps or delayed before accessing the runway because several operators are using limited airport capacity. He also described a recent United Nigeria Lagos-Kano flight affected by bad weather. According to Olawuyi, the flight eventually departed Lagos at about 10:30 p.m., but a thunderstorm at Kano disabled runway lighting before landing. The aircraft returned to Lagos and landed at about 1 a.m. “That’s not the fault of the airline,” he said. Olawuyi said many Nigerian airports have limited night-operating capability, meaning an earlier delay can extend beyond operating hours and result in cancellation. He argued that the regulator’s figures should therefore be assessed across the wider aviation system rather than attributed solely to carriers. ValueJet’s Chief Commercial Officer, Trevor Henry, made a similar argument at the same Lagos event. He cited presidential movements, weather, congestion at check-in and security points, crowded boarding lounges, boarding-gate congestion and taxiway and runway congestion as factors affecting schedules. “Delays and cancellations are usually caused by issues like presidential movements, weather, airport congestion at check-in, congestion in the boarding lounge due to security checks, and congestion at the boarding gate,” Henry said. The discussion also produced a proposed operational response from Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2. MMA2 Chief Operating Officer Remi Jibodu said more than 10 airlines can schedule flights around 7 a.m., creating pressure on airport facilities. He proposed better coordination and staggered departure times, including consideration of a slot system to spread peak-hour traffic. The dispute therefore centres on two separate questions: whether the NCAA’s flight-volume figures accurately captured individual airline operations, and whether raw delay totals are sufficient to assess airline performance without identifying the causes of each disruption. The NCAA has not publicly responded in the sources reviewed to Air Peace’s specific claim that 700 flights were omitted from its August total. Its published report remains the regulator’s official August disruption dataset, while the airlines’ alternative figures and causal breakdowns remain claims from the respective carriers pending reconciliation with the NCAA.

Nigerian Airlines Challenge NCAA Delay Data Over Missing Flights And External Factors

September 18, 2026

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Lagos, Nigeria: The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority’s August 2026 domestic flight-disruption report has come under challenge from Air Peace, United Nigeria Airlines and ValueJet, with the carriers questioning the regulator’s flight-count data and its failure to distinguish delays caused by airlines from those linked to airports, weather, infrastructure and other external factors. The NCAA, in its report released on 13 September 2026, said 15 domestic airlines operated 7,961 flights in August, of which 4,765 were delayed and 36 cancelled. Air Peace was listed with 1,864 flights and 1,330 delays, giving it a 71.4% delay rate, while United Nigeria recorded 943 delays from 1,231 flights, the highest delay rate at 76.6%. ValueJet recorded 435 delays from 767 flights, or 56.7%. The NCAA said 2,801 delays lasted between 16 minutes and one hour, 1,322 lasted one to two hours, 407 lasted two to three hours and 235 lasted at least three hours. Air Peace accounted for 108 of the longest delays. Air Peace challenged the figures on 17 September 2026 through a statement signed by its Chief Operating Officer, Oluwatoyin Olajide. The airline said it actually operated 2,564 flights in August, rather than the 1,864 recorded by the NCAA, arguing that the omission of more than 700 flights distorted its performance metrics and inflated its reported delay rate. “By omitting over 700 fully operational flights from the data pool, the NCAA’s calculations skew our actual performance metrics and artificially inflate the reported delay percentages,” the airline said. Air Peace also questioned why the NCAA began its monthly disruption series with August instead of July, after publishing its first- and second-quarter disruption reports on 31 July. “Why did the NCAA start the monthly series with August rather than July, immediately following the publication of Q1 and Q2 on 31st of July?” the airline asked. It also questioned the publication of detailed August data only 13 days after the end of the month. Another major issue raised by Air Peace was the absence of an airline-by-airline breakdown of the causes of delays. The NCAA report provided the number and duration of delays but did not publicly attribute individual delays to internal airline factors or external circumstances. Air Peace argued that this presentation could leave the impression that the disruptions were primarily caused by airline operations. The airline said its own review found 391 flights affected by internal factors, mainly technical issues requiring unscheduled maintenance and fuel-related problems. It attributed the remaining disruptions to external factors including airport congestion and traffic, infrastructure deficiencies, adverse weather, bird strikes, aviation-union industrial action and aircraft damage by a ground-handling company. Air Peace said airport congestion and traffic accounted for more than 51% of its externally caused delays. Air Peace also pointed to a bird strike involving aircraft 5N-BYG in Abuja. The airline said the strike damaged the aircraft’s inlet cowl beyond acceptable limits, cost about US$1.8 million to repair and kept the aircraft out of service for more than a week. It said the aircraft normally operated at least eight sectors a day and carried about 1,000 passengers, meaning its removal affected subsequent rotations. The airline further said adverse weather during the rainy season caused safety holds and diversions, creating consequential delays across later flights. It also said aviation-union picketing that began on 11 August, 2026 affected its operations for more than 14 days, causing rescheduling, delays and cancellations. The NCAA had separately acknowledged the industrial action on 11 August, 2026 saying it was affecting passengers and other stakeholders and urging the unions to resolve the dispute. United Nigeria Airlines raised a similar methodological concern during the Aviation Day of the 23rd Akwaaba African Travel Market in Lagos on 15 September, 2026. Its Chief Commercial Officer, Adedayo Olawuyi, said the NCAA figures should distinguish between controllable and uncontrollable delays before carrier performance is assessed. “The first problem we have with that data, personally speaking, is that the data was not presented in a way where we have removed controllable delays and uncontrollable delays,” Olawuyi said. Olawuyi cited airport congestion, inadequate infrastructure, technical problems and weather as causes of disruption. He said aircraft can be ready for departure but remain blocked on ramps or delayed before accessing the runway because several operators are using limited airport capacity. He also described a recent United Nigeria Lagos-Kano flight affected by bad weather. According to Olawuyi, the flight eventually departed Lagos at about 10:30 p.m., but a thunderstorm at Kano disabled runway lighting before landing. The aircraft returned to Lagos and landed at about 1 a.m. “That’s not the fault of the airline,” he said. Olawuyi said many Nigerian airports have limited night-operating capability, meaning an earlier delay can extend beyond operating hours and result in cancellation. He argued that the regulator’s figures should therefore be assessed across the wider aviation system rather than attributed solely to carriers. ValueJet’s Chief Commercial Officer, Trevor Henry, made a similar argument at the same Lagos event. He cited presidential movements, weather, congestion at check-in and security points, crowded boarding lounges, boarding-gate congestion and taxiway and runway congestion as factors affecting schedules. “Delays and cancellations are usually caused by issues like presidential movements, weather, airport congestion at check-in, congestion in the boarding lounge due to security checks, and congestion at the boarding gate,” Henry said. The discussion also produced a proposed operational response from Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2. MMA2 Chief Operating Officer Remi Jibodu said more than 10 airlines can schedule flights around 7 a.m., creating pressure on airport facilities. He proposed better coordination and staggered departure times, including consideration of a slot system to spread peak-hour traffic. The dispute therefore centres on two separate questions: whether the NCAA’s flight-volume figures accurately captured individual airline operations, and whether raw delay totals are sufficient to assess airline performance without identifying the causes of each disruption. The NCAA has not publicly responded in the sources reviewed to Air Peace’s specific claim that 700 flights were omitted from its August total. Its published report remains the regulator’s official August disruption dataset, while the airlines’ alternative figures and causal breakdowns remain claims from the respective carriers pending reconciliation with the NCAA.

Nigerian Airlines Challenge NCAA Delay Data Over Missing Flights And External Factors

September 18, 2026

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