NCAA denies Nigeria Air approval to proceed to phase 2 of AOC certification
Nigeria Air has been denied approval by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to proceed to Phase 2 of the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) certification.
The denial was conveyed in a letter signed by Captain O. O. Lawani, with reference number NCAA/DOLTS/GEN/Vol.111/16123, addressed to the Managing Director of Nigeria Air.
In the letter, NCAA stated; “Quite contrary to our earlier letter of 16th May, 2023 which enumerated the documents to be submitted with formal application form OPS 002, your letter of request to proceed to Phase Two has no inclusion of a formal application form and the necessary documents referenced in the formal application form. Hence, the certification process cannot progress to phase two without these required documents.”
The regulatory authority further reminded Nigeria Air that the post holder’s letter of commitment to the airline has a tenure of three months and has now expired. This development hinders the airline from advancing in the certification process.
It should be noted that Nigeria Air was in Phase 1 of the AOC certification process when the former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, publicly displayed an aircraft with foreign registry and Nigeria Air livery.
This action was deemed illegal by industry observers, especially considering ongoing litigation against the airline by the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON).
The AOC certification process comprises five phases. The first phase involves the pre-application stage, where discussions on regulatory requirements and the submission of a statement of intent form occur.
The second phase requires the formal application and submission of necessary documents for evaluation.
The third phase involves the evaluation of documents to ensure compliance with regulations.
The fourth phase includes demonstrations, inspections, and audits to assess the effectiveness of proposed procedures and compliance with regulatory requirements.
Finally, in the fifth phase, certification is granted if all regulatory requirements are met, allowing the airline to engage in commercial aviation activities in Nigeria.
