U.S. ban on Nigerian airlines, misinterpretation of FAA decision – NCAA

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has clarified the situation surrounding the alleged ban on Nigerian airlines by the United States, citing a misinterpretation of some decisions of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

In a statement signed on Monday by Capt. Chris Najomo, Acting Director General of Civil Aviation, the NCAA addressed the confusion and provided context to the report that had caused public concern.

According to the NCAA, to operate flights into the United States, countries like Nigeria must satisfactorily meet the requirements of the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) Programme and attain Category 1 status.

Achieving this status, it noted, allows Nigerian airlines to operate both Nigerian-registered aircraft and dry-leased foreign-registered aircraft into the United States under the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA).

Nigeria first achieved Category 1 status in August 2010 and retained it following safety assessments conducted by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 2014 and 2017.

However, as of September 2022, the FAA revised its criteria, removing countries from the Category 1 list if, over a two-year period, they had no indigenous airline providing service to the U.S. or carrying the code of a U.S. operator. The new criteria also affected countries where the FAA was not offering technical assistance due to identified non-compliance with international safety oversight standards.

The statement added that no Nigerian airline has flown into the U.S. with a Nigerian-registered aircraft within the two years before September 2022. As a result, Nigeria, along with other countries in similar circumstances, was delisted from Category 1 status.

This delisting, as the NCAA emphasized, is not related to any safety or security deficiencies in Nigeria’s aviation oversight system. Nigeria has successfully passed comprehensive International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) safety and security audits, recording no Significant Safety Concern (SSC) or Significant Security Concern (SSeC).

The NCAA also clarified that Nigerian airlines could still operate flights to the U.S. using wet-leased aircraft from countries that maintain Category 1 status.

The authority reaffirmed its commitment to adhering to international safety and security standards and respecting the sovereignty of states, including the United States, as outlined in Article 1 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation.

The statement also highlighted the efforts of Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, who has launched an international campaign to enable Nigerian airlines to access the global dry-lease market. This initiative it noted, includes recent visits to Airbus in France and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed with Boeing in Seattle, Washington.

The NCAA further disclosed that the Minister has been working to ensure Nigeria’s full compliance with the Cape Town Convention, aiming to restore international lessors’ confidence in the Nigerian aviation market.

In concluding, the aviation authority expressed optimism that these initiatives would soon enable Nigeria to regain and sustain its Category 1 status with the United States.