SINCE the delisting of Nigeria from the Category One status by the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States due to the inability of any Nigerian carrier to operate between the two countries for seven years countrys ayatiola sector have been reacting differently.
Though the delisting of Nigeria had taken place through a direct communication to Nigeria through the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the development got to the public domain through a statement issued by the NCAA, recently, with the issue sparking controversy amongst the interest groups.
The NCAA, in a statement signed by its acting Director-General, Captain Chris Najomo, attributed the delisting to the failure of any Nigerian airline to provide service to the U.S. or carrying the airline code of a U.S operator.
According to the NCAA: “No Nigerian operator has provided service into the United States using a Nigerian registered aircraft within the two-year period preceding September 2022 so it was expected that Nigeria would be delisted as were other countries who fell within this category. Nigeria was, therefore, delisted since 2022 and was duly informed of this action in 2022.
“It is important to clarify here that the delisting of Nigeria has absolutely nothing to do with any safety or security deficiency in our oversight system. Nigeria has undergone comprehensive ICAO Safety and Security Audits and recorded no Significant Safety Concern (SSC) or Significant Security Concern (SSeC), respectively.
“It is furthermore necessary to add that a Nigerian operator can still operate into the U.S. using an aircraft wet-leased from a country that has a current Category One status”
Reacting to the news of the delisting, a former military commandant at the Murtala Muhammed Airport and the Managing Director, Centurion Security, Group Captain John Ojikutu
• (retd.) described the development as a sign of a failing system.
He said: “It is meant to remind us that things are going from bad to worse today. I am waiting to see how Air Peace or any Nigerian airline would be allowed to enter the US without another FAA/TSA audits on the NCAA.
“The problem of the delisting started about the time we lost the benefit of belonging to the international/intercontinental communities without having a national carrier or flag carriers.
We have been designating private airlines on the BASA routes with no government security supports and forgetting that such airlines are national assets for national security.
“If you cannot support such airline, you cannot be in the Category One. That is one major reason Air Peace is still having problems with the UK destination airports.”
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