NCAA clarifies issues over Med-View European ‘restrictions’

Following the inclusion of Med-View Airline in the European Union (EU) Air Safety List, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) is set to hold high-level talks with the European Union Air Safety Committee (ASC) of the European Commission (EC) to resolve all discrepancies over the purported ban.

General Manager, Public Relations of NCAA, Mr. Sam Adurogboye, said this was part of a series of engagements with the European Commission (EC) in the aftermath of a failed application by Med-view Airlines for a Third Country Operator Authorisation to the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

According to the NCAA, the application failed during the verification of documents submitted by the airline which were found to be non-compliant with Regulation (EC) No 2111/2005 and therefore, could not qualify for approval.

Adurogboye said the authority thereafter, received the notification of non-compliance through the office of the Nigerian Mission to International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

Upon receipt of notification, the Director General of NCAA, Capt. Muhtar Shaibu Usman, met with senior officials of the European Commission in Gaborone, Botswana, during the Regional Safety Oversight Organisation Conference in February of this year.

“During this meeting, extensive discussions were held with a view to resolving the matter. Similarly, the Regulatory Authority engaged Med-view Airlines to straighten out issues arising from the failed application to the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA),” Adurogboye said.

The NCAA spokesman said the issue of ban came about after a tripartite meeting in Brussels from April 25 to 26, 2017.

Adurogboye added that: “After the deliberations, the European Commission (EU), with the full support of the EU Air Safety Committee, unanimously decided to ban Med-View Airlines in accordance with the common criteria set out in the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 2111/2005.”