Travellers Awards: Onyema, Nuhu, others make final list in aviation category

Channelled towards promoting excellence in travel and tourism sector, Travellers Awards has released the final list of 2021 aviation industry winners. The awards will be presented on March 11, 2022, at this year’s Abuja Jabamah.

The Aviation winners are as follows: Aviation Personality of the Year: Captain Musa Nuhu DG NCAA has been declared Aviation Personality of the Year for navigating the resumption of Civil Aviation in Nigeria and bringing it back to good health within 12 months. He is also credited for deft handling of the Aeropolitics issues in 2021. On the other hand, Aviation CEO Of The Year award will be presented to Akin Olateru for clearing the backlog of many accident investigations in the last 18-months. Under his watch, AIB has grown and established itself as a relevant Player in Aviation in Nigeria and West Africa.

Aviation Company of the Year award will go to Pathfinder – Most Travellers do not see the role played by these silent profilers and service providers that make for seamless operations of international travel in Nigeria. With 34 years of experience and operating in I8 domestic airports and 24 airports across Africa, Pathfinder is a shining example of private sector investment and management in aviation business.

Aviation Handling Company Of The Year will be presented to SAHCO PLC. Amongst the Top Airlines in Nigeria, including five Nigerian Airlines and six International Airlines that have the highest number of flights and carried the highest number of passengers in 2021, SAHCO handled the most in 2021. This includes the Top five Domestic, and the Top 5 International Airlines.

Nosa Aituamen of Radio Nigeria will receive the Aviation Communicator Of The Year 2021 award. She has converted a five-day Radio Programme into a mass media outlet with print and video linkages establishing a visibility never seen before in Aviation.

Airline of The Year Domestic will go to Ibom Air; Africa World Airline will receive Airline of the Year International, while African Airline of the year award will be presented to Africa World Airlines. European Airline of the year award goes to Turkish Airline; Best On Time Performance For International Airlines will be presented to Royal Air Maroc, while Virging Atlantic will receive award for Best On time Performer for European Airlines. Nigerian International Airline Of The Year award will go to Air Peace, while Ibom Air will receive Best On time Performance for Domestic Airline.

Aviation School of the Year award will go to Landover Aviation School, having produced the overall Best Student for International Air Transport Association (IATA) exams in 2021 and had the highest rate of passes for all students in 2021. The Aviation Event of the Year is the Interlining Agreement between DANA and Ibom Air. This is a major milestone for aviation business Nigeria. Having two domestic airlines agree to join systems and collaborate has been a solution that Nigerian airlines have avoided until now.

Meanwhile, Chief Allen Onyema, the Chairman of Air Peace, will receive Travel Personality Of The Year award. Onyema was chosen for his consistent performance in the Aviation Business. His Airline Air Peace is the first airline to bring a brand new commercial passenger plane to Nigeria since Arik Air and Virgin Nigeria more than 10 years ago.

Travellers Awards had earlier unveiled African World Airline as the Best International Airline in Nigeria and Turkish as the Best from Europe. The winners were chosen from a Pool of 27 International Airlines that operated 9673 Flights and carried over 2Million Passengers from five Airports in Nigeria. The Top 15 of these airlines were profiled.