FirstNation Airways says it’s airworthiness certificate has not been downgraded by the Nigerian Civil aviation authority NCAA is being alleged in some quarters.
According to the airline’s spokesman, Rasheed in a statement said, “it has become necessary to issue the following clarification to correct misconception in some section of the media relating to the status of our current operation. Our Airworthiness status was never downgraded as wrongly reported. There is a clear distinction between Certificate of Airworthiness (C of A) and Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC).
He explained that, “Our Air Operators Certificate (AOC) fell due for renewal on July 31st, 2017, this is the third successful renewal that we have achieved working in good faith with Regulatory Authorities. The renewal process entailed subjecting our operations to rigorous and demanding audit processes covering all areas of our activity. Well before the AOC renewal, we voluntarily reduced our flight frequency to well within the capacity of our current fleet. The AOC was successfully renewed for charter operation and we have contracts for sales distributions. We thus remain committed to the highest level of safety standard in line with Global industry best practises.
According to the statement, the airline is currently working on a fleet expansion program and is confident that it would expand to schedule operation during the fourth quarter of 2017.
It stated further, “We are working with the NCAA with respect to the outcome of our recent appeal. It is imperative, that this is the very first infraction that has been alleged against us. We thus remain bullish about the outlook of this AIRLINE”.
