The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has suspended its planned enforcement of the controversial ‘No Pay, No Service’ directive, which was earlier imposed on 11 operating airlines for failing to remit to the agency the statutory five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) and Cargo Sales Charge (CSC).
 
A source close to the NCAA confided in The Guardian yesterday that the total debt of the airlines was about N12 billion owed to the aviation agencies in recent years.
 
The five per cent TSC is collected by the NCAA on behalf of four other agencies, and it is shared as NCAA, 56 per cent; Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), 22 per cent; Nigerian Meteorological Agency (Nimet), nine per cent; and Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), six per cent.
 
A statement yesterday by the Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Chris Najomo, said that the temporary suspension of the directive by the NCAA followed extensive consultations with stakeholders and a review of prevailing operational realities in the aviation industry, particularly the rising cost of Jet A1 fuel and the need to maintain stability in the sector.
 
Najomo, however, clarified that the suspension should not be interpreted as a waiver or cancellation of the airlines’ outstanding debts.
 
According to him, all affected airlines remain fully responsible for settling their statutory obligations, stressing that the authority would continue structured engagements with the operators to ensure recovery of the debts without disrupting airline operations.
 
He noted that President Bola Tinubu had earlier approved a 30 per cent discount on outstanding statutory fees owed by domestic airlines to aviation agencies as part of measures to cushion the effect of high aviation fuel prices and stabilise the industry.
 
The agency further explained that the five per cent TSC and CSC was a statutory levy established under the Civil Aviation Act and collected by airlines on behalf of the aviation ecosystem at the point of ticket and cargo sales.
 
He pointed out that the charge did not constitute operating revenue or profit for airlines and must therefore be remitted accordingly.