The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has called on the federal government to remove the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) from the civil service structure to enable the agency to attract the right personnel in order to safeguard the aviation industry.
AON made the call in a letter it wrote to the Senate on January 19 2022 and addressed to the Senate President, Senator Ahmed Lawan where they explained that the request was of immediate safety concern about the aviation industry.
AON stated that the NCAA was established to regulate the aviation industry and implement government policies in the industry and also enforce the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) safety standards and recommended practices to ensure that the operators in the industry met the safety requirements.
The airline body in the letter, signed by the AON president
President, Alhaji Abdulmunaf Yunusa Salina reiterated that “the agency would only be able to do this if it attracts the right personnel with sound technical know-how and to attract these special skills, it must be willing to offer these personnel attractive and competitive emoluments.”
“In order to effectively carry out its important duties as highlighted above, the NCAA needs to attract and engage a team of technically sound professionals in virtually every field of aviation, notably flight operations, engineering, safety inspectors, dispatchers, cabin executives among others, so as to be able to conduct regular oversight of the industry.
