……to sanction those involved in impounded aircraft in the UAE
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has appealed to domestic operators to carry the Ministry of Aviation along when making plans to commence regional or international flights to avoid any unfair treatment.
This is just as the regulatory body says Nigerian airlines would continue to suffer in the hands of other countries as regards charges of landing, parking and other miscellaneous charges if they failed to do the right thing.
Speaking at the gateway forum of the League of Airports and Aviation Correspondents, LAAC during a zoom press conference the Director General, NCAA, Captain Musa Nuhu said, the regulatory body meant well for the airlines when it says, it was important for them to involve not just the Aviation Ministry but also the NCAA, embassy officials in the countries they intend operating to.
“I advice I will give the airlines is that if you are going to another country to exchange your services you should involve the regulatory body, you should involve the Ministry of Aviation and also involve your embassy in that country. If you as a private organization, you try and go and negotiate with a government entity directly and in trying to protect their own airline, they are going to run into difficulties.”
The DG NCAA emphasized that it was the responsibility of the regulatory body to protect the interest of the airlines and ensure they grow, adding that if they were carried along in all the process, any treatment melted out to Nigerian airlines would be reciprocated to such countries airlines.
“If you involve the Ministry of Aviation officials, you involve NCAA officials and you involve the embassy officials, if you make it difficult for our airlines we apply the same reciprocal measures to their own airlines so it make it a big difference. A lot of airlines go and do a deal without us, we are here to help you grow it is part of our responsibility, carry us along, brief us and we will help you, we are here to help our airlines grow both domestically, regionally and internationally.”
He added, “I hear them talking about aeropolitics, yes, an airline from Nigeria wants to go team up with the airline in cote d’ivoire without us off course you will run into difficulties but when you carry other officials along it means a difference because if you put unreasonable demands on my airline, we apply the same to your airline so it is in their benefits.”
On the impounded aircraft by the UAE in July this year during the covid-19 lockdown, Captain Nuhu said the aircraft is not Nigerian registered but US registered.
He stressed that all investigations by the NCAA had been concluded and documents sent to the UAE and the country of registration, adding that all those who brought the country’s name to dispute in this incident would be sanctioned.
“It is not a Nigerian aircraft, it is a US registered that was brought to Nigeria to operate under the AOC of Nigeria, we have concluded our investigations and we have forwarded the documentations and our investigations to the authorities in Dubai and the United States Federal Aviation Administration so, that information has been forwarded to them.”
“They have responded and they asked for additional information which we have given them and I received an email today from Dubai communicating with the United States where the aircraft is registered, am talking about getting some documentations ready, once the state of registry which is the US.”
“We have done our investigations and we are going to take some sanctions against those who have violated our own regulations.”
