The air transport sector in Nigeria has failed the just concluded Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), scoring five points short of the 75 per cent benchmark.
It was the first time in 15 years the sector would fail the mandatory audit. However, it has been given the statutory 60 to 90 days lifeline to close all identified gaps.
The audit, which puts the regulatory agencies to tests, examined the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The apex regulatory body scored 70 per cent in Effective Implementation (EI), at the end of the audit that was concluded on Monday.
The Guardian learnt that the NCAA was found wanting in training, which reduced the marks following huge gaps noticed in the training area of the examination.
The CAA, in Legislation, scored 90 per cent – a reduction from the 95 per cent it scored in the last audit, while it scored 83 per cent in Organisation compared to its 100 per cent score last time around.
In Personnel Licencing, the CAA scored 84 per cent, while it scored 62 per cent in Operations compared to its last score of 57 per cent.Sister agency, the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) performed well, scoring 89.25 per cent in the ICAO audit. The record beats the Canadian Transportation Safety Board, which scored 64 per cent.
Notwithstanding the overall result, the entire aviation industry comparatively did well in the audit, outperforming bigger aviation countries.The audit, which took place between August 30 and September 11, 2023, focuses on a State’s (in this case the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority) capability to provide safety oversight by assessing whether the State has implemented the critical elements (CEs) of a safety oversight system effectively and consistently.
According to ICAO, this enables the State to ensure the implementation of ICAO’s safety-related Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and associated procedures and guidance material and provides ICAO with a means to continuously monitor the States’ fulfilment of their safety oversight obligations.
