The Federal Government has announced that it will come down hard on private airline operators that deviate from their core business.
To this end, the Ministry of Aviation has directed all private airlines that engage in commercial operations to ensure that they regularise their operations on or before Thursday, February 5, 2015.
The Minister of Aviation, Mr. Osita Chidoka, who gave this directive at a meeting on Tuesday, said that airlines that flouted the order would be grounded by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.
According to the minister, there are about 90 private aircraft in the country engaged in general aviation, with some registered for private use, but are now engaging in chartered business.
Chidoka said, “We cannot continue like this. Nigeria is a sovereign state and cannot continue to tolerate this. Private registered aircraft must learn to play by the rules and should either operate in accordance with the operation, which they registered for, or regularise their operations with the NCAA.
“Any of these operators that fails to regularise its operations will not be allowed to fly in Nigerian airspace and the NCAA has been directed to ground any of the private registered aircraft operators that uses its aircraft to do chartered operations and fails to regularise its operations on or before February 5, 2015.”
He also stated that henceforth, the renewal of Air Operator’s Certificate would be based on the ability of airlines to produce yearly plans on how they would train their personnel, adding that this became necessary because of the discovery that airlines in the country preferred to poach each other’s personnel instead of investing in training.
The minister also directed that from July 1, 2015, all local and international airlines engaged in general and commercial aviation in the country must have Nigerian pilots in their cockpits.
Also speaking at the event, the Chairman, Ministerial Committee on Aeronautical Charges, Mr. Ahonsi Unuigbe, recommended a reduction in some of the charges that consumers were paying for aviation services.
He said, “We seek the moderation of some of the charges that are deemed to be excessively high such as the cargo vehicle surcharge; car stickers apron pass; documentation of clearing agents’ fees; and that the registration of freight forwarders’ fees be retained at N100,000 as against an increase to N250,000.
“I believe that the recommendations of the committee, if implemented, will go a long way in repositioning the competitiveness of the Nigerian aviation industry and reduce the burden on passengers without compromising service delivery quality.”
