African aviation veteran Nick Fadugba dies

The UK-based Fadugba served until recently as the chair of the African Business Aviation Association (AfBAA) and  for a brief time he was secretary-general of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA).

He established his company African Aviation Services (AAS) in 1990 with the pan-African vision of promoting aviation development throughout Africa.

He passionately believed that aviation could be a vital catalyst for Africa’s economic and social transformation. Since 1988, he has provided a wide range of consultancy and advisory services to international aviation, finance and leasing organisations and to African Governments.

Fadugba helped pioneer international aviation conferences in Africa, focusing on aviation finance, leasing, aircraft maintenance and aviation training and published one of the first Pan-African aviation publications.

In 2020, South Africa’s Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) appointed the Nigerian-British born Fadugba as one of the interim six-member on South African Airways (SAA) board to govern the restructuring and relaunch of the carrier.

“This is a terrible shock for us all,” said Times Aerospace editor-in-chief Alan Peaford. “He was someone who helped spark a genuine interest in Africa and the African aviation scene. This is a great loss to the industry in the region.”