US didn’t de-list Nigerian airlines over safety issues- NCAA

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has clarified that the United States did not delist Nigerian airlines due to safety concerns.

The NCAA made this known on Monday night in a statement signed by the Acting Director General of Civil Aviation, Capt. Chris Najomo.

“The attention of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has once again been drawn to a publication about the purported ban on Nigerian airlines by the United States,” Najomo stated.

“Due to the wrong impression such news could create, it has become expedient that we put this report in its proper perspective.

“To operate into the United States of America, Nigeria, like most countries, must satisfactorily pass the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) Programme and attain Category 1 status.

“Upon attaining this status, Nigerian airlines would be permitted to operate Nigerian-registered aircraft and dry-leased foreign-registered aircraft into the United States, in line with the existing Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA).

“The first time Nigeria attained Category One Status was in August 2010. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) conducted another safety assessment on Nigeria in 2014. A further safety assessment was conducted on Nigeria in 2017, after which Nigeria retained her Category One status.”

Najomo explained that, with effect from September 2022, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) delisted Category One countries who, after a 2-year period, had no indigenous operator providing service to the U.S. or carrying the airline code of a U.S. operator.

He added that countries the FAA was not providing technical assistance to, based on identified areas of non-compliance with international standards for safety oversight, were also removed from the Category One list.

He clarified that no Nigerian operator has provided service into the United States using a Nigerian-registered aircraft within the two-year period preceding September 2022, so it was expected that Nigeria would be delisted, as were other countries who fell within this category.

Najomo stated that Nigeria was, therefore, delisted in 2022 and was duly informed of this action that same year.

“It is important to clarify here that the delisting of Nigeria has absolutely nothing to do with any safety or security deficiency in our oversight system,” he said.

“Nigeria has undergone comprehensive ICAO Safety and Security Audits and recorded no Significant Safety Concern (SSC) or Significant Security Concern (SSeC) respectively.

“It is furthermore necessary to add that a Nigerian operator can still operate into the U.S. using an aircraft wet-leased from a country that has a current Category One status.”

Najomo said that the NCAA continues to adhere strictly to international safety and security standards and respects the sovereignty of States, including the United States of America, as enshrined in Article One of the Convention on International Civil Aviation.

According to the NCAA director, this provision gives states complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above their territories.

Furthermore, he noted that this situation has prompted the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo (SAN), to embark on an aggressive international campaign to empower local operators to access the dry-lease market around the world. This effort culminated in a visit to AIRBUS in France earlier this year and the MOU signed with BOEING in Seattle, Washington just last week.

“The minister has also done a lot of work to make Nigeria comply fully with the Cape Town Convention, which will bring back the confidence of international lessors in the Nigerian aviation market,” Najomo stated.

“We are confident that with these steps by the minister, it is only a matter of time before Nigeria not only regains but can sustain its U.S. Category One status.”