Why aviation standards cannot be lowered for any operator — Najomo

THE Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has re-emphasised its determination to rid the country’s aviation sector of illegal charter operators.

The development came as the regulatory agency dismissed the notion that the prevalence of illegal charters in the system is due to “diluted, pervasive air operating licenses in the various, confusing civil aviation Acts.”

The NCAA, through its Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, described such allegations as an untenable alibi for the continuous perpetration of the said illegal operations.

In a statement signed and issued by the acting Director-General of NCAA, Captain Chris Najomo, in response to a publication challenging the organisation (to ease the hurdles to air operator certificate (AOC), Najomo wondered if there is any airline operator who does not know the difference between, or the intent of, private operation and commercial operation from the Permit for Non-Commercial Flight (PNCF) that sparked up the ongoing allegation against the NCAA.

Clarifying issues surrounding the NCAA policy regarding the issuance of AOC, Najomo stressed that aviation standards cannot and should not be lowered to please those who canvas the views.

He said: “Aviation is international in concept. Nigeria, as an ICAO contracting state, has ensured its safety oversight system conforms to the eight critical elements prescribed by ICAO. While our Civil Aviation Act complies with the Convention on International Civil Aviation, our regulations must remain consistent with the ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs).

“There is, therefore, only one Civil Aviation Act currently in force and one set of regulations called the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig. CARs) 2023. Both documents are known to the entire aviation industry and are being used by all legitimate players in the sector.”

According the acting DG, if those behind the allegation had been following events in the sector in the recent past, they would have acknowledged how the NCAA has simplified the process of obtaining and renewing AOCs.

He said: “For instance, the AOC validity has been extended from two years to three years for non-scheduled commercial air transport operators and to five years for scheduled commercial air transport operators.

“This has relieved airlines of the burden of frequently undergoing the certification process. To fill that gap, the NCAA has instituted an enhanced surveillance regime to ensure safety standards are being maintained throughout this extended validity period.

“The NCAA also relaxed the minimum requirements for some key management personnel required to be appointed in the airlines. Still in line with the ease-of-doing business principle of the present acting Director-General, Civil Aviation, the five-phase certification process for AOC renewals has been cut to four.”

Clarifying the issues of fees paid by operators for the acquisition of these certificates and licences in Sec. 21 of the Civil Aviation Act 2022, which states that NCAA runs on a cost-recovery basis, Najomo said: “This section further empowers the authority to impose fees for the regulatory services it renders.

“NCAA does not receive any allocation from the Federal Government and therefore meets its obligations entirely from the fees and charges statutorily mentioned in the Act. Despite this challenge, fees were not fixed arbitrarily.

“A situation where the fee for obtaining an AOC was a meagre N200,000, which has remained the same for over two decades, was certainly no longer sustainable in assuring proper safety certification of prospective airlines for the safe transportation of the travelling public. NCAA even benchmarked its fees against other countries in the West African sub-region to arrive at realistic figures.”

Najomo who said his management will continue to operate an open for policy from stakeholders in an effort to grow the aviation sector in Nigeria through making regular engagements the cornerstone of its administration in line with his five points agenda.

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