NCAA, airline bicker over renewal of operator’s certificate
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and Tropical Arctic Logistics (TAL), a helicopter operator, have bickered over the renewal of Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) for the airline.
TAL Chief Operating Officer (COO), Mr Femi Adeniji, had in an interview said it lost over $2 million trying to renew its AOC which lasted close to 18 months.
“The Director General of NCAA seriously needs to look into the renewal of AOCs? Why do you have to renew your license every two years? Why do you have to go through the five steps? Every three or six months, you amend your manuals, so why are you still required to go through step one to step five when you want to renew? It doesn’t make sense.”
But the Director-General of NCAA, Capt. Musa Nuhu, told newsmen yesterday that the airline had not fulfilled the requirements for AOC renewal.
He said the agency would not compromise in the enforcement of safety standards, regulatory requirements and Standard and Recommended Practices (SARPs).
On the matter of non-renewal of TAL’s AOC, the DG stated that TAL fell short in meeting the requirements for the renewal of the AOC as it currently does not have three out of four key nominated post holders.
The missing key personnel include the Director of Maintenance, Director of Flight Operations and Chief Pilot, he stated.
He said TAL’s AOC will be renewed when these requirements have been satisfactorily met.
The DG further stated that the five-Phase AOC process (both initial and renewal) is not peculiar to Nigeria as it is an ICAO requirement under ICAO Annex 6 Parts I and III and ICAO Document 8335) which is captured in Nig.CARS 2015 Part 9 on AOC Certification.
“These strict regulations are to ensure only qualified applicants are granted AOC. This is one of the main reasons Nigeria attained FAA IASA Category 1 in the first instance.
“Nig.CARS 2015 were established with the participation and consultation of all industry stakeholders and must be complied with to the full extent until such a time there is a review of the regulations.”