Airport

BERLIN – Some airports across Europe face continued disruptions on Monday following a cyberattack late on Friday, with Berlin among the worst affected.

Berlin’s main airport (BER) expected around 95,000 passengers, well above the typical 75,000–85,000 on a Monday, a spokesman said, citing additional strain due to the return of thousands of marathon runners.

Other major hubs hit by the cyberattack, including Dublin, Brussels and London Heathrow, were also still experiencing disruptions days after the attack.

Brussels Airport asked airlines to cancel half of Monday’s scheduled departures, while passengers were advised to arrive two to three hours before take-off.

At Heathrow, staff worked through Sunday to restore normal operations, with “the vast majority of flights” now expected to run on schedule, although check-in disruptions remained on Sunday afternoon.

Dublin Airport reported 13 cancellations by midday on Sunday and said it continued to tackle technical issues.

Berlin’s airport urged travellers to check in online and, where possible, use self-service kiosks for luggage drop-off.

The disruptions stem from a cyber attack on IT service provider Collins Aerospace late Friday, which the company confirmed.

The motives behind the attack remained unclear.

Eurocontrol, Europe’s air traffic management body, reported that Berlin, Brussels, Dublin and Heathrow faced passenger processing issues.

Other major German airports were not affected.( dpa/NAN)

By Sylvanus Viashima, Jalingo

JALINGO (PRECISE POST) – The pioneer Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Taraba and former Envoy to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Alhaji Hassan Ardo on Thursday said that the visit of President Bola Tinubu to Taraba has shown that the State Governor Agbu Kefas has failed woefully in the first Two years of his administration.

During an interaction with journalists, Ardo said it is a shame that the President who was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima had no project to commission as part of the working visit that comes just a few days to the second anniversary of Governor Agbu Kefas in the State.

He noted that while presidential visits to other states is usually marked with the commissioning of plethora of people oriented projects, in Taraba State, the only thing the President had to commission was the renovated airport that was built over a decade ago.

“Let me say that as a critical stakeholder in the Taraba project, a staunch member of the All Progressives Congress and astute politician, the visit of Mr President to Taraba is very significant. I am so happy that he was represented in the State although I wish he were personally on ground to see things for himself. Taraba is a purely APC State despite the fact that the party has been robbed repeatedly.

“I wish the President was personally on ground to see things for himself. Even at that, I must say that the Vice President is more than an equal representation. You will notice sadly that there was no projects for the President to commission, even though the visit is coming just a few days to the second anniversary of the administration in the State. That is to tell you that the governor has nothing to show for the last Two years.

“So we are happy that the President was there to encourage investors to consider Taraba as an investment hub especially in agriculture. But the visit has also exposed the emptiness of this administration. It has vindicated some of us who have maintained that this governor has nothing to offer.

“When we talk people say it is because we are opposition but I challenge people to show me any projects that the governor initiated and completed within this Two years. Even the renovations he is doing focused on areas of his personal luxury rather than people oriented projects.

“So far, what he beats his chest about is the renovated government House, renovated Government lodges where he stays when he is in these locations and stuffs like that. Namnai bridge that collapsed since last year has been there and the people have continued to suffer. I remember sometime in March, he said that the contract was awarded for the reconstruction of the bridge but there is nothing till date. Is that bridge not more important than the airport? Is not like the airport was not in use. But the bridge is completely cut off and you can’t imagine the hardship and economic loses people face on that road” he lamented.

Ardo called on the President to consider special interventions in the State to ameliorate the hardship that the people are going through due to poor governance under the Governor Agbu Kefas led PDP government in the State.

By Chris Udochukwu

The Chairman House of Representative’s Committee on Aviation, Rt Hon. Abdulahi Idris Garba has described airports as national security assets that must be efficiently handled for safety and economic development.

He stated this while addressing the Officials of the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development and heads of it’s agencies during a joint audit investigative session on enhancing the accountability and competency of the Nigerian Airports in National Assembly.

Hon. Garba, also noted that the meeting was in furtherance to the resolutions passed by the House in plenary on Tuesday May 21, 2024 regarding the competency of the nation’s airports.

He reiterated that airports as critical security zone required that the personnel and contract staff working there were qualified and competent to ensure safety of equipment and all users of the gateways both locally and internationally.

The Aviation Committee Chairman also stressed that the parliament was equally concerned about the functionality of the infrastructure and all the technical equipment available at all the country’s airports and was ready to work with the executive to ensure that what was necessary would be done to ensure that standards were maintained in the industry.

He stressed that the session was of great benefit to the nation and urged the Minister of Aviation, Barrester Festus Keyamo and the heads of the agencies to be frank and sincere in the submissions during the discussions.

Hon. Garba who also represents Kontangora/Wushishi/Mariah/Mashegu Federal Constituency of Niger State in the House of Representatives consequently reassured the Minister and his team that the committee was prepared to assist the sector in making sure that the mandate given to him and his officials were achieved