U.S. flight ban: NCAA reveals reasons Nigerian airlines remain restricted
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has clarified the reasons behind Nigeria’s loss of its Category 1 Status, which has disqualified domestic airlines from operating flights to the United States.
In a statement released on Tuesday and signed by its acting Director-General, Chris Najomo, the NCAA explained that, like most countries, Nigeria is required to successfully pass the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) Programme and achieve Category 1 status in order to operate in the U.S.
“The attention of the NCAA has again been drawn to a publication about the purported ban on Nigerian airlines by the United States. Due to the wrong impression such news could create, it has become expedient that we put this report in its proper perspective,” Najomo stated.
He emphasized that attaining Category 1 status would allow Nigerian airlines to operate Nigerian-registered aircraft and dry-leased foreign-registered aircraft into the U.S., in accordance with the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA).
Najomo recounted that Nigeria first achieved Category 1 status in August 2010, with subsequent safety assessments conducted by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 2014 and 2017, both of which confirmed Nigeria’s retention of the status.
“No Nigerian operator has provided service into the United States using a Nigerian-registered aircraft within the two-year period preceding September 2022,” Najomo explained, adding that Nigeria’s de-listing was not due to any safety or security deficiencies in the country’s aviation oversight system.
Najomo highlighted that Nigeria had successfully undergone comprehensive International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Safety and Security Audits, with no Significant Safety Concern (SSC) or Significant Security Concern (SSeC) recorded.
He further mentioned that Nigeria’s aviation minister, Festus Keyamo, had launched an aggressive international campaign to empower local operators to access the dry-lease market globally. This effort included a visit to Airbus in France earlier this year and the signing of an MOU with Boeing in Seattle, Washington, last week.
“The Honourable Minister has also done a lot of work to make Nigeria comply fully with the Cape Town Convention, which will bring back the confidence of international lessors in the Nigerian aviation market.
“We are confident that with these steps of the Honourable Minister, it is only a matter of time before Nigeria not only regains but can sustain its U.S. Category 1 status,” Najomo concluded.
