Review of Civil Aviation rules underway – NCAA

Barring last minute changes, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) may call for stakeholders’ engagement towards a review of the 2015 Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig. CAR), Daily Trust can report.

Of particular import was the part that stipulates the number of aircraft for presentation by prospective operators applying for the Air Operator Certificate (AOC).

In recent times, there have been calls for the upward review of the two aircraft requirement following capacity constraints by the operators.

Part 9.1.1.6 of the Nig. CAR stipulates that an operator may be denied AOC if “the applicant does not have three Nigerian registered airworthy aircraft, at least two airworthy aircraft capable of servicing its approved schedule if it is already in operation, and for non-scheduled operation, one Nigerian registered aircraft.”

Aviation professionals under the aegis of Aviation Roundtable have consistently called for an upward review of the aircraft requirement to 20.

The suggestion was first made in 2017 amidst grumbling from some operators who described the suggestion as highly unrealistic.

“ART cannot talk about AOC or aircraft acquisition and with due respect to my fathers and brothers at the ART, the idea for the regulator to increase stake on the minimum number of aircraft for operation doesn’t follow. What should matter is how you use what you have to build capacity and entrench the safety needs,” the President of Aviation Round Table (ART), Mr Gbenga Olowo, said.

There are seven airlines currently operating scheduled flights with all of them put together having less than 40 aircraft which is less than the fleet of South-African Airways, according to Olowo.

The airlines are Arik Air, Air Peace, Med-View, Aero Contractors, Dana Air, Azman Air and Overland. First Nation’s AOC was recently suspended for operating with one aircraft.

But the call resonated last week during the ART’s first quarterly meeting where the president of the group, Gbenga Olowo, reiterated the call, saying that aircraft requirement should be increased to a minimum of 10 to 20 aircraft.

“With this, we would be having headache of an operator having two aircraft. The fleet element of AOC should be reviewed. The two aircraft requirement is no longer good for us as an industry to continue to parade weak and anaemic airlines,” he said.

Responding to the renewed debate, a senior official of NCAA, Engr. Kayode Ajiboye, explained that during the process of drafting the regulations, the authority actually proposed a minimum of five aircraft but it rebuffed by the operators.

He, however, disclosed that a review of the regulation would be carried out before the end of the year with a view to explore the possibility of increasing the number of operating aircraft for AOC applicant or owner.

But an operator, who spoke in response to the clamour, said it was not the number of aircraft that mattered but the management of the existing fleet of an operator.

However, the ART in its communique at the end of the forum said, “The NCAA should improve on economic regulation of the industry and review upwards, the twoaircraft AOC condition for establishment of airlines.” was