National carrier feasible by Dec - NCAA

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) yesterday said the December 2018 target for the take-off of the national carrier is feasible.

Director General of the authority, Capt. Mukhtar Usman, stated this against the backdrop of the misgivings that have trailed the declaration by the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika.

Sirika had recently said the much awaited carrier would commence operations in December and set up a task force comprising the DG NCAA and other aviation agencies’ heads to actualize the plan.

But stakeholders have expressed doubt over the feasibility of the plan especially when the Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) has not been granted six months to the target date.

But NCAA, the regulatory body responsible for the issuance of AOC, said the December date is feasible.

The DG said the AOC could be processed in just 90 days once the prospective operator is well guided and ready to abide by the guidelines.

He said, “The presence of the agencies inside the task force is to ensure that the right things are done, they are not midwifing in the real sense of the national carrier but they are guiding the process to ensure that it is done in line with the international standards and best practices in the area of safety, security and also comfort of the passengers.

“This time around, government says we should go and ensure that even before take-off that nothing is short circuited, process followed so that they can come to stay, start and stay. The same service we have rendered to every operator that came from the time the operator came at the first phase, coming with the intent that they want to start operating, it is one f the stages in the issuance of the Air Operators Certificate, to the time somebody want to do formal application”.