The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has said that there are plans to review the provision of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulation (Nig. CARS) 2015 which prescribes at least two serviceable aircraft as condition for granting of Air Operator Certificate (AOCs) to commercial airlines.
Speaking at the second Quarterly Business Breakfast Meeting 2018, organised by the Aviation Round Table (ART) in Lagos, NCAA’s general manager, Airworthiness Standards, Mr. Kayode Ajiboye, said the review was necessitated by the need to maintain efficient services and routine maintenance schedule.
“It is almost impossible for a two-aircraft airline to maintain efficient service once one plane is out on maintenance. It just cannot work. So, we have to review this regulation.
“It is not of our making that the minimum is two. The stakeholders chose it. We only hope that ART will be there to make proposals when we are set for a review later this year,” he said.
The implication of the review is that new entrants will no longer present two aircraft as minimum entry requirement.
There are indications that new entrants may have to present between four and five aircraft before the NCAA can issue an AOC to the would-be operator aside meeting other requirements that qualify them to get certificate.
NCAA which admitted that the public was concerned about two aircraft operators disclosed that the review became necessary in view of the fact that airlines’ operations are hampered seriously if one of the aircraft in the fleet of two aircraft goes for mandatory check, leaving the airline with just one aircraft which it said is not too good for safety.
In his remarks, the president of ART, Mr. Gabriel Olowo said the country could no longer parade anaemic airlines which at inception are obvious they lack all it takes to succeed.
“The regulation should be reviewed to ensure that start-up airlines must go beyond two aircraft. This regulation existed many years ago which must be changed to reflect the new reality we are in. This would make for a healthy industry and eliminate some of the problems we are going through with sustenance of airline operations in the country. We can’t continue to parade anaemic airlines,” he said.
He said there was the need for aviation agencies to set up Key Performance Index (KPI) to measure their achievements from time to time.
He said ART would continue to ensure the advancement of the industry by consistently promoting safety and professionalism through effective working relationship with government and other stakeholders.
