Our capacity in aviation sector has improved —Sirika

NIGERIA’S Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika has declared that with the retention of the United States highest safety standard popularly known as Category One Status the capacity of Nigeria’s aviation has improved.

Sirika made the declaration during the presentation of the category one certification to him by the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Usman Mukhar at the NCAA annexe in Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.

Speaking at the occasion, the minister said, “I thank the Director-General and his team for doing us proud to retain the category one certification which has been presented to me. The travelling public might not be aware but we in aviation are aware of the feat.”

Receiving the certificate, the minister thanked Mukhtar for making Nigeria proud, even as he described the status as very significant to the industry.

Presenting the certification as a birthday gift to the minister, the NCAA DG stated “in 2010, Nigeria attained the category one status, in 2014, we sustained it. In 2018, we have been able to retain it.”

According to him, the latest achievement became unique in view of the fact that this time around, it was the NCAA in-house personnel that were used to achieve the feat unlike the previous ones when external assistance wassought.

A team of auditors from the American FAA had visited Nigeria for the audit of the safety status of the country’s civil aviation industry in November 2017 which enables direct flight connections into the US by the Nigerian registered aircraft.