The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has elucidated that Nigerian airlines are not permitted to operate flights into the United States of America due to their failure to achieve the requisite Category 1 status.
This clarification was articulated in a statement penned by the Acting Director General of Civil Aviation in Nigeria, Capt. Chris Najomo, on Tuesday in Abuja.
The statement asserts: “The NCAA has been alerted to a publication regarding the alleged prohibition on Nigerian airlines by the United States. In order to dispel any misconceptions that such news may cause, it has become imperative for us to provide clarity on this matter.
“Once Nigerian airlines attain Category 1 status, they will be authorized to conduct operations utilizing Nigerian registered aircraft as well as dry-leased foreign registered aircraft into the United States, in accordance with the existing Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA),” he articulated.
The statement, Nigeria first achieved Category 1 status in August 2010, and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) conducted another safety assessment on Nigeria in 2014.
He mentioned that a subsequent safety assessment was carried out on Nigeria in 2017, following which Nigeria maintained its Category 1 status.
The head of NCAA stated that as of September 2022, the U.S. FAA removed Category 1 countries that, after a two-year period, did not have a domestic operator providing services to the U.S. or carrying the airline code of a U.S. operator.
The statement continued: “Countries were also delisted from the Category 1 roster if the FAA was not furnishing technical assistance to them, based on identified areas of non-compliance with international safety oversight standards.
“No Nigerian operator had conducted services into the United States utilizing a Nigerian registered aircraft within the two-year timeframe preceding September 2022.
“Therefore, it was expected that Nigeria would be delisted, as were other countries falling under this category. Nigeria was consequently removed from the list in 2022 and was duly notified of this action in the same year,” he explained.
He emphasized that Nigeria’s delisting had absolutely no connection to any deficiencies in the nation’s oversight system pertaining to safety or security.
Ojomo highlighted that Nigeria had undergone comprehensive International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Safety and Security Audits and had not recorded any Significant Safety Concern (SSC) or Significant Security Concern (SSeC) respectively.
“It is also important to note that a Nigerian operator can still conduct flights into the U.S. using an aircraft leased from a country with a current Category 1 status.
“The NCAA continues to strictly adhere to international safety and security standards and upholds the sovereignty of states, including the United States of America, as outlined in Article 1 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation.
“This provision grants states complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above their territories,” he added.
The NCAA chief mentioned that the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, had embarked on an assertive international campaign to enable local operators to access the dry-lease market globally.
“This effort culminated in the visit to AIRBUS in France earlier this year and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with BOEING in Seattle, Washington just last week.
“The Honourable Minister has also made significant strides to ensure Nigeria fully complies with the Cape Town Convention, which will restore the confidence of international lessors in the Nigerian aviation market.
“We are confident that with the initiatives of the Honourable Minister, it is only a matter of time before Nigeria not only regains but also sustains its U.S. Category 1 status,” Ojomo concluded.
